A man who rammed a vehicle into the front of a Petaluma jewelry store Saturday afternoon, Jan. 31, was attempting to thwart a robbery, according to police.
The robbery at Gold Rush Jewelers at 385 South McDowell Blvd. was reported about 4:46 p.m. Saturday to Petaluma police, the agency said. According to a preliminary investigation, six people wearing ski masks entered the store armed with hammers, pepper spray and at least one gun. One person held the four employees at gunpoint while the others smashed the display cases and removed jewelry.
A male bystander who happened upon the scene got into the suspects’ idling vehicle and slammed it into the business, damaging a roll-up door and some windows, Sgt. Ryan McGreevy said Tuesday. The man later told police that he had been trying to block the robbers inside.
McGreevy said the man’s method was “unorthodox,” but he is not suspected of any criminal charges.
The crash prompted the robbers to flee — four into the vehicle that had been rammed into the store and two on foot into a neighborhood across South McDowell Boulevard. One of the suspected robbers pepper-sprayed the bystander as he tried to get out of the car, police said.
With the assistance of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s helicopter Henry-1, officers later found the men they said fled on foot. One was spotted jumping down from a rooftop and trying to hide under a vehicle while the other was later seen sitting in a backyard, police said.
William Clarance Butler of Pittsburg and Mosha’e Koron Howell of Antioch were arrested and booked into the Sonoma County jail. On Monday, both of the 18-year-old men were charged in Sonoma County Superior Court with four counts of robbery and one count of conspiracy — all felonies. Both are being held without bail and set to appear Feb. 17 in court.
On Saturday, police also located a bag of jewelry between the store and the neighborhood where the two men had fled, McGreevy said Tuesday. The owner of the store is still determining how many pieces of jewelry were taken during the robbery and the value of those items.
The vehicle in which the other four robbers fled the jewelry store was found abandoned in a nearby neighborhood and authorities later determined it had been stolen in Brentwood. Authorities, including a K9 unit, searched for hours for the other four individuals to no avail. As of Tuesday, authorities have not identified the four robbers or located the gun used in the robbery.
None of the jewelry store employees were injured but told police they were emotionally shaken after the robbery.
Petaluma police are asking that anyone with information, including security camera footage, contact Detective Alyssa Hansen at 707-781-1291 or ahansen@cityofpetaluma.org.
You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at madison.smalstig@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @madi_smals.
Four suspects remain at large and two were arrested after an armed robbery at a Petaluma jewelry store on Saturday, police said.
Officers responded to Gold Rush Jewelers on North McDowell Boulevard around 4:45 p.m., learning six suspects entered the business armed with hammers, pepper spray and a gun, police said.
The suspects broke glass display cases and took jewelry while one suspect held employees up to gunpoint, police said.
A person who saw the suspects enter the store drove the suspects’ unattended vehicle into the front of the store, police said, prompting the suspects to flee.
One suspect peppper sprayed the bystander as he tried to get away from the vehicle, police said.
Four suspects got into the vehicle and drove out of the shopping center while two others ran away, police said.
The suspect’s vehicle was found abandoned in an adjacent neighborhood, police said. It was determined that the vehicle was stolen from Brentwood.
People on Coronado Drive saw a person jumping fences, and that suspect was taken into custody. A second suspect was also located in a backyard and taken into custody.
After searching the neighborhood for about two hours, the remaining four suspects were not found. They remain at large.
The suspects arrested were identified as 18-year-old William Butler Clarence of Pittsburgh and 18-year-old Moshae Koron Howell. They were booked for robbery, burglary, battery, assault with a firearm, exhibiting a firearm in a threatening manner and conspiracy.
The employees were not injured. The bystander was treated at the scene and released.
Residents said the incident is unsettling, particularly because of the suspects’ ages.
“I think it’s really scary these times that teenaged individuals feel that it’s okay to do that in broad daylight,” said Petaluma resident Lindsey Wert.
Customers said they were relieved that store employees were not hurt. The company declined to comment. On Sunday, people were seen cleaning up inside the store.
“I feel sad because it does take away your sense of security. And it makes you realize anytime, anything could happen. But I think as a community, everybody sticks together and helps each other here,” said customer Carol Simpson.
Authorities are reminding the public to be good witnesses and not put themselves in danger.
Two cities in the San Francisco Bay Area are facing a lawsuit brought on by the Trump administration seeking to end their bans on natural gas in new buildings.
On Jan. 5, the Department of Justice filed a suit in the Northern District of California against the cities of Morgan Hill and Petaluma.
According to the text of the lawsuit, federal prosecutors argue such bans lead to “crushing” costs for residents and are preempted by federal law.
“These natural gas bans hurt American families and are outright illegal,” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement. “Alongside the Department of Energy, the Department of Justice is working around the clock to end radical environmentalist policies, restore common sense, and unleash American energy.”
Adam Gustafson, the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the DOJ’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, said, “When states and cities pick winners and losers, consumers pay the price. Our complaint seeks to restore consumer choice so that people and businesses can build in a way that fits their needs best.”
According to prosecutors, Morgan Hill approved a ban on new natural gas infrastructure in 2019, while Petaluma followed two years later.
Another Bay Area city, Berkeley, was the first in the country to implement a ban on natural gas on new homes and buildings, citing concerns about climate change. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals tossed out Berkeley’s ordinance in 2024, following a challenge brought on by the California Restaurant Association.
“Under that controlling precedent, Morgan Hill’s and Petaluma’s natural gas bans are invalid-as numerous other California cities have recognized when recently repealing or suspending their equivalent bans,” the lawsuit said.
In a statement to CBS News Bay Area on Tuesday, Morgan Hill City Attorney Donald Larkin said the city follows federal law and will continue to do so.
“The City has not denied any permits for gas infrastructure based on the 2019 ordinance since the courts struck down Berkeley’s similar ordinance. In fact, the City has approved projects with gas infrastructure. While we are still reviewing the complaint, this lawsuit appears to be an unnecessary effort to require the City to follow laws with which the City is already in compliance,” Larkin said.
Petaluma City Attorney Eric Danly said in a separate statement to CBS News Bay Area that they are also complying with federal law and that they are not enforcing their ordinance following the 9th Circuit ruling.
“In fact, the City has not denied any project or permit applications based on its electrification regulations, and has approved and is processing development projects that include gas infrastructure. In any event, the City has observed that developers have generally opted voluntarily to install electric utilities,” Danly said.
The lawsuit calls for the court to declare the bans are preempted by federal law and to enter a permanent injunction to prevent the ordinances from taking effect.
A road in Petaluma closed after power lines fell on it due to a crash Saturday, the California Highway Patrol said.
CHP reported Point Reyes Petaluma Road closed from Highway 1 to Platform Bridge Road. They add power lines are down due to a solo vehicle crash and asked drivers to avoid the area.
CHP said the hard closure is expected to last until 5 a.m. Sunday.
The latest twist came Monday in the high-profile case of animal welfare activist Zoe Rosenberg, who awaits sentencing for her role in taking four chickens from a Perdue Farms processing facility in Petaluma: a celebrity endorsement.
Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix, one of Hollywood’s most esteemed actors, released a statement through the group Direct Action Everywhere, or DxE, urging the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office to prosecute Perdue’s Petaluma Poultry facility for “years of documented cruelty,” rather than focusing its attention on activists such as Rosenberg.
“Criminalizing people for rescuing suffering animals is a moral failure,” Phoenix wrote. “Compassion is not a crime. When individuals step in to save a life because the system has looked the other way, they should be supported — not prosecuted. We have to decide who we are as a society: one that protects the vulnerable, or one that punishes those who try.”
In addition to circulating the statement to media outlets, DxE posted it on Facebook and Instagram. By 3 p.m. Monday, the post had been shared more than 1,800 times, and had attracted nearly 2,000 comments, most of them supportive of Phoenix’s message.
Carla Rodriguez, the Sonoma County district attorney, said her office had not heard directly from the actor, and she had not spoken to him.
Zoe Rosenberg talks to supporters outside the Sonoma County Hall of Justice after being found guilty of felony conspiracy. Photo taken in Santa Rosa Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (Beth Schlanker / The Press Democrat)
Rosenberg, a 23-year-old Cal student billed by Berkeley-based DxE as an “animal cruelty investigator,” was convicted Oct. 29 by a Sonoma County jury on charges of felony conspiracy and three misdemeanors. She is set to be sentenced Dec. 3 and could face up to 4½ years for her actions at the Petaluma Poultry processing plant during a 2023 incursion there by activists.
If it seems odd to see a movie star insinuate himself into the legal affairs of Sonoma County, it fits Phoenix’s lifelong support of animal welfare. He has been vegan since the age of 3.
When he won the Best Actor award for his dark portrayal of the title character in the movie “Joker,” he took the opportunity to speak out on animal agriculture.
“We go into the natural world, and we plunder it for its resources,” Phoenix told the audience in Hollywood while accepting his Oscar at the 92nd Academy Awards ceremony. “We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow, and when she gives birth, we steal her baby even though her cries of anguish are unmistakable. Then we take her milk that’s intended for her calf, and we put it in our coffee and our cereal.”
The next day, Phoenix backed up his words with action. In partnership with the activist group LA Animal Save, he helped remove a cow and newborn calf from a slaughterhouse in Pico Rivera, with permission from the owner, and relocated the animals to the Farm Sanctuary property in Acton. Both locations are in Los Angeles County.
Phoenix won other awards for “Joker” in 2020, and he took up the cause of animal liberation at each step. Before the British Academy Film Awards, known as the BAFTAs, he helped drape a 400-square-foot banner from London’s famed Tower Bridge, declaring “Factory farming destroys our planet. Go vegan.”
Direct Action Everywhere insists producers such as Petaluma Poultry run factory farms that are too large to ensure animal welfare. Local dairy and poultry businesses vehemently disagree, a debate that came to a head in 2024 when DxE members championed Measure J, which sought to sharply limit the size of those operations in Sonoma County. The measure suffered a resounding defeat at the polls.
A month before the BAFTA demonstration, Phoenix thanked the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which at the time hosted the Golden Globe Awards, for adopting vegan standards at its 2020 ceremony.
“But we have to do more than that,” he urged the Golden Globes audience that night. “Together we can hopefully be unified and actually make some changes. It’s great to vote. But sometimes we have to take that responsibility on ourselves.”
A DxE spokesperson said Phoenix’s statement on behalf of Rosenberg was coordinated by his social impact advisor, Michelle Cho.
Petaluma Poultry was locally owned until 2011, when it was acquired by Perdue Farms, the Maryland-based agribusiness giant. The company still buys its chickens from local farms. DxE has claimed for years that conditions at the Petaluma facility are cruel to the birds and unhealthy for consumers.
Perdue Farms denies such claims and has petitioned the courts to prevent DxE demonstrators from protesting at the homes of Petaluma Poultry executives.
Direct Action Everywhere activists protest at the Santa Rosa home of Jason Arnold, Petaluma Poultry director of operations, on March 22. (Direct Action Everywhere) Direct Action Everywhere
“Petaluma Poultry is very committed to proper animal care,” local spokesperson Rob Muelrath said on behalf of the company. “Our birds have room to move around, access to the outdoors, and things to keep them engaged. They’re raised on a healthy diet without antibiotics.”
Muelrath added that the facility is regularly visited by U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors, and by Global Animal Partnership, a nonprofit that rates welfare standards at farms, ranches and other businesses related to meat production.
The Sonoma County Superior Court judge in Rosenberg’s trial, Kenneth Gnoss, prohibited her attorneys from introducing documentation DxE had collected at the processing plant in Petaluma.
Her attorneys argued she acted out of moral duty to save animals she believed were suffering. She said after the verdict, she had no regrets about her actions.
Her legal team is planning to appeal.
“The jury found Zoe Rosenberg guilty on all counts,” Muelrath wrote to The Press Democrat. “The break-in was a well-planned, deliberate breach of private property with the intent to steal — a criminal act that was deliberate, strategic, and bordering on corporate espionage or agro-terrorism.”
Phoenix’s filmography also includes starring roles in “Walk the Line,” “Her,” “The Master” and, most recently, “Eddington.”
You can reach Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @Skinny_Post.
A hit-and-run investigation is underway after a bicyclist was found dead in the Petaluma area Saturday morning, authorities said.
Around 9 a.m., the California Highway Patrol said it responded to Rainsville Road near Stoney Point Road when a bicyclist was found unresponsive.
Officers said when they arrived at the scene, the man was pronounced dead. The CHP said it’s unknown when the incident happened, saying it either happened Friday night or Saturday morning.
CHP officers said the bike and the victim were found off the road and in foggy conditions Saturday morning.
There is no description of the suspect vehicle. Anyone with information is urged to contact the CHP Santa Rosa office.
The identification of the victim has not been released.
A man was arrested after allegedly vandalizing and breaking into an apartment in Petaluma Wednesday afternoon, the police department said.
Police said the on-site property manager of the Studios at Montero apartment complex called authorities at around 5:20 p.m. to report that a previously arrested person, who is not a resident of the complex, had vandalized property and was trying to enter a room without permission.
The manager had requested prosecution for vandalism and trespassing, according to officials.
Upon arrival, police said the suspect was identified as 28-year-old Zeno Salinas-Rurales, who was known to officers from a July 30 incident at the same location.
Authorities reported Rurales was barricaded inside a room belonging to a resident who was not at home at the time. Rurales repeatedly slammed the door, threw objects inside the room and ignored numerous verbal commands in both English and Spanish, according to officials.
The police department said Rurales was also observed arming himself with multiple improvised weapons, including scissors, a chair and a bicycle frame.
Officials added Rurales then smashed a lamp through the window and continued to throw additional items, damaging the room.
After 30 minutes, the suspect approached the doorway while armed with a broken chair, police said. Authorities reported an officer deployed a taser, causing Rurales to fall to the ground, and he was then handcuffed.
While being handcuffed, police said Rurales continue to physically resist and was placed into a maximum-restraint device for transport.
How bad are Bay Area roads? You may be surprised at which ones are getting the worst marks.
A report from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), the government agency that oversees transportation planning and financing for the Bay Area, graded local roads on ride quality, cracking and other signs of distress.
Overall, they give the Bay Area’s 44,000 miles of local streets a 67 out of 100. That’s about a D grade. Here’s how the best and worst scored:
Worst conditions:
Vallejo – 44
Petaluma – 50
Pacifica – 50
Napa County – 50
Millbrae – 52
Best conditions:
Larkspur – 87
Palo Alto – 83
Cupertino – 82
Orinda – 82
NBC Bay Area’s Raj Mathai spoke with John Goodwin, spokesperson for the MTC, to learn more about the report. Watch their conversation in the video player above.
The North Bay Animal Services is looking for the owner of an envelope with cash that was found with one of the donations to the shelter.
Thursday, officials said the staff found an envelope with cash while retrieving some donated newspapers from the shelf at the shelter. Staff also said there was a name written on the front.
Shelter officials said they want to find the person who donated the newspaper, a San Francisco Chronicle dated Sept. 11, to return the envelope. They ask for the owner of the envelope to call their office at 707-762-6227 and tell them the name on the envelope and the amount of money.
A veteran racer died after a crash during the annual Taxicab Challenge at the Marysville Raceway Saturday night, officials said.
Officials at the Maryscville Raceway said 12 drivers participated in the final race of the night, featuring the Tri State Pro Stock division.
On lap 14, officials said Shawn McCoy was involved in a single-car crash. McCoy was taken to a nearby medical facility, where he later died, officials said.
“McCoy was well respected in the racing community,” the Marysville Speedway said in a statement. “Our condolences, thoughts and prayers are with Shawn’s family and friends as well as the racing community.”
McCoy was a veteran racer who was a Petaluma Speedway regular and a former track champion.
The Petaluma Speedway issued a statement about McCoy’s passing, saying he was known for his blue and multi-colored number 60 Super Stock and Dwarf Car.
“We were all fortunate to know this quiet and gentle giant for as long as we did,” the Petaluma Speedway said. “We mourn the loss of Shawn McCoy as the Petaluma Speedway family. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Shawn’s wife Becky and the entire McCoy family at this time.”
Djakari Rashawn Pariani-Tompkins, 29, was killed Monday when he lost control of his vehicle in the 5900 block of Point Reyes-Petaluma Road northwest of Novato, according to the county.
At approximately 3:40 p.m., Pariani-Tompkins was driving a Ford Expedition westbound within Chileno Valley near McEvoy Ranch, south of Petaluma within Marin County.
For reasons unknown and which remain under investigation, Pariani-Tompkins lost control of the vehicle he was operating, departed the roadway and his SUV rolled over onto its roof.
Pariani-Tompkins was not wearing a seatbelt and was partially ejected from the vehicle during the collision and became partially entrapped beneath the vehicle when it came to rest, according to the county.
A restrained front-seat passenger was able to self-extricate herself from the vehicle after the collision.
Pariani-Tompkins was discovered lifeless, unresponsive, and unconscious. His death was declared on the scene “without providing resuscitative aid having sustained traumatic injuries incompatible with life,” the county said.
The medical examiner on Tuesday carried out an autopsy and took a routine toxicology, the county said. The cause and manner of his death will be pending the conclusion of an investigation by the California Highway Patrol and the coroner’s office.
“The Marin County Sheriff’s Office and personnel of the Coroner Division offers our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Pariani-Tompkins.”
Pariani-Tompkins was a resident of both San Rafael and Petaluma, the county said.
PETALUMA — Petaluma police said Saturday morning that a stolen semi-truck with a 40-foot trailer took police on a chase Thursday night.
Officers responded to a report of a stolen semi at around 9:26 p.m. in the area of North McDowell Boulevard and Professional Drive. The truck was discovered traveling northbound on North McDowell Boulevard at Transport Way. Police identified the suspect as 41-year-old Glenn Hopkins of San Francisco.
Petaluma police arrested the driver of a stolen semi truck on April 11, 2024
Petaluma Police Dept
After an attempt to commence a traffic stop, Hopkins accelerated the truck to approximately 30-35 mph, instigating a pursuit. The suspect appeared to have trouble maintaining control of the truck, as he swerved across the entire road and hit the center median, posing a risk to public safety.
Petaluma PD followed Hopkins as he turned eastbound on Corona Road, where he ran over the curb and sidewalk, and struck a tree and road sign.
Hopkins then went southbound on Sonoma Mountain Parkway before finally stopping as he turned onto Colombard Road.
The suspect was detained and transported to the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility. He was charged and booked for felony possession of a stolen vehicle, felony evading of a police officer with wanton disregard for safety and misdemeanor hit and run causing property damage.
SAN JOSE – More than three decades after 12-year-old Polly Klaas of Petaluma was kidnapped and murdered, the man convicted of killing her is seeking to overturn his death sentence.
Lawyers representing Richard Allen Davis were in a Santa Clara County courtroom Friday. Davis was convicted of killing Polly and sentenced to death in 1996.
But because of a California law that took effect in 2022, Davis is now trying to have his death sentence overturned.
Federal public defenders argued that Senate Bill 483–which invalidates sentencing enhancements for some prior convictions for nonviolent and drug convictions—should be applied to Davis’s case.
Richard Allen Davis
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
A Sonoma County prosecutor said granting Davis a whole new penalty phase trial is outside the scope of what the law intended.
Davis did not attend Friday’s hearing.
Marc Klaas, Polly’s father, never thought he would have to be back in a Santa Clara County courthouse to relive the horrific case of how his daughter was kidnapped at knifepoint, sexually assaulted, and murdered.
Polly Klaas, photographed with her father Marc Klaas, disappeared from a sleepover in Petaluma on October 1, 1993.
CBS
“It’s been terrible. I believe that 28 years ago, you and I stood almost exactly the same place, and I might have said something to the effect that this is finally over,” Klaas told CBS News Bay Area on Friday. “Yet here we are 30 years later.”
The judge said he’ll take time to consider the law and the arguments he heard Friday. The court’s ruling is scheduled for May 31.
In 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order placing a moratorium on the state’s use of the death penalty.
PETALUMA – Kenilworth Junior High School in Petaluma was on lockdown as of midday Wednesday after a report of an explosion on campus and the discovery of fireworks, police said.
Petaluma police issued an alert around noon about the lockdown at the school on Riesling Road.
No injuries have been reported and officers are at the campus to investigate. No other information about the police activity was immediately available.
