Archives



After leading Sonoma cops on wild chase, parolee tasered out of attic hiding place

Posted on September 10, 2018 by Sonoma Valley Sun

user29582-1536604343-media1_a57d6e_192_240_PrsMe_A wanted man with a history of fleeing from police led deputies on another wild chase Saturday, evading officers in a car, then by bike and finally on foot. Alexander Edwards was eventually subdued after running into a random Faro Drive home, scaring a 12-year-old girl and hiding in the attic before being tasered into submission.

Edwards was ultimately booked into the Sonoma County jail on felony charges including assault with a deadly weapon on an officer, evading arrest, burglary, robbery, child cruelty and petty theft. The parolee is being held in the Sonoma County Jail on $200,000 bail.

The ordeal began at about 4:30 p.m. when an anonymous caller tipped police that Edwards was in a home in the 19500 block of Cypress Lane in Sonoma.

Deputies were familiar with Edwards as he has fled from them at least nine times in the past, according to a report by Sgt. Spencer Crun.

The deputies arrived on the scene, but before they could coordinate a response, Edwards sped away from the home in a white Ford Ranger.

A deputy standing pressed himself against his car as Edwards sped by at about 60 -70 mph, Crum said, missing him by about one foot. Edwards turned left and continued west on Petaluma Avenue but crashed on an embankment at Arnold Drive.

Deputies soon found the abandoned truck. Neighbors in the area began calling in sightings of Alexander. The reports were instrumental in tracking his movements, Crum said.

One caller stated they saw Edwards steal a small pink girl’s bicycle and ride out of the neighborhood. Several minutes later, a caller from the Starling Bar at Hwy 12 and West Spain Street reported that Edwards showed up on the pink bike and asked for ride because his wife was having a baby. He pedaled away before police could arrive.

The bizarre incident was building to a dramatic close.

A deputy then spotted the bike abandoned in the 700 block of Fano Drive. Deputies formed a perimeter in and started a door-to-door search. Deputies found a broken fence, entered the home through the unlocked front door, and announced their presence.

After a few minutes, Crum reported, a 12-year-old girl came downstairs and told deputies that Edwards was in her parent’s bedroom. The girl was frightened but unhurt.

Deputies found Edwards hiding in the attic above the master bedroom, with his feet dangling out of the ceiling opening. After several refusals to come down, a deputy applied his taser and Edwards was forcibly removed.

Crum said that with Edwards safely in custody, deputies returned the pink bike to its young owner after ordering her a basket and a new lock. “We also want to thank the Sonoma public for their awareness and assistance in all their help with this case,” Crum said. “This was truly a community effort”.

 




Sonoma Sun | Sonoma, CA