Point Reyes Light Sheriff's Calls

January 25, 2001 Sheriff's Calls

POINT REYES STATION – A member of the Coast Guard, who was doing maintenance work at the service’s housing complex, was severely injured at 10:20 a.m. Tuesday while operating a drill press on metal. A deputy explained that the drilling required using oil to lubricate the bit, and the man was using a rag to wipe up extra oil. However, the rag caught in the drill and together they pulled off the serviceman’s right index finger. Paramedics took the Coast Guardsman, along with his detached finger wrapped in gauze and cooled by ice, to Marin General Hospital by ambulance. From there he was transferred to a clinic in San Francisco that specializes in micro-surgery.

TOMALES – A resident along the Tomales-Petaluma Road at 10:15 a.m. Sunday complained that a vandal had painted over a George Bush political sign in her pasture.

STINSON BEACH – A deputy at 12:15 p.m. Monday arrested a man on a warrant and booked him into the county jail.

STINSON BEACH – A woman at 5:30 p.m. last Wednesday reported losing her purse in a local restaurant four days earlier.

INVERNESS – A woman called deputies from Sir Francis Drake Boulevard at 2 p.m. last Thursday to complain her former boyfriend had left harassing messages on her answering machine in violation of a court order.

STINSON BEACH – A woman on Calle del Onda at 9:30 a.m. Monday complained that a construction crew without a permit was shoring up a bridge. A deputy contacted both parties and determined the crew had a permit. The officer advised the woman to call the Planning Department with any complaints. At 2:15 p.m. four days earlier, the owner of the bridge complained that vandals had removed supports the contractor had placed under the bridge. A deputy determined there had been no vandalism. However, at 3:25 p.m., the owner requested extra patrols in the area.

SAN GERONIMO – A woman on San Geronimo Valley Drive at 10:30 a.m. Monday notified deputies that two leather bridles with silver, German bits had been stolen from a horse barn of a stable earlier this month. She estimated the loss at $800.

POINT REYES STATION – The Highway Patrol at 1 a.m. Monday reported there was a traffic accident at Third and C streets. Deputies could not find it.

STINSON BEACH – Deputies at 10 a.m. Sunday received a 911 hangup call. When an officer called back, a man said his wife could have placed the call because she is "totally nuts." He added that he didn’t know why she would call 911. Deputies noted the man "sounded odd" and that they could hear him talking in the background with a woman. The man then said no one had used the phone and he didn’t know how 911 came to be called.

STINSON BEACH – A woman at 11:10 a.m. Sunday reported having ongoing problems with a neighbor over parking on Calle del Ribera. She said the man had now parked his car behind the car of one of her friends, leaving neither of them room to move their vehicles. The Highway Patrol handled the matter.

WHITE’S HILL – Deputies at noon Sunday received word that a motorcycle had crashed on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. The Highway Patrol handled the accident.

NICASIO – An Old Rancheria Road resident at 3:30 p.m. Sunday complained about an ongoing problem with trespassers. She said she believed someone with an aluminum ladder had been on her deck that morning. Deputies confirmed the woman had reported prowlers several times in the past but found nothing amiss.

POINT REYES STATION – A car northbound on Highway 1 crashed into an embankment near Tomasini Canyon Road at 3:45 p.m. Sunday. The driver left the scene before deputies arrived, and officers received conflicting reports regarding his condition. One witness said the motorist was not hurt while another said he had been injured and taken away in another vehicle. The car was immobilized by the crash, and the Highway Patrol handled the incident.

TOMALES – A resident living near Highway 1 a mile south of town reported people shooting near a private bridge for 30 minutes despite a court-issued retraining order banning shooting there. The resident said the people did not appear to be duck hunters.

SAN GERONIMO – A woman at 2 p.m. Saturday complained that two men about 19 or 20 had been trespassing next to her house, and when she asked them to leave, they yelled at her. A deputy reported he would give the woman advice and look for the men.

BOLINAS LAGOON – A motorist, who had been driving on Highway 1, stopped to call deputies at 3 p.m. Saturday, saying his roommate, who was with him, a short while earlier had threatened to commit suicide.

WOODACRE – A Central Avenue resident at 7 p.m. Saturday told deputies it sounded as if juveniles were throwing fireworks down the storm drain in front of his house, noting that he could hear a loud but muffled boom. At 7:45 p.m., county firefighters said they had received several reports of a large-caliber gun being fired. The firefighters concluded the noise was neither gunshots nor firecrackers but possibly cherry bombs being set off on the fire road at the end of Carson Road.

NICASIO – A vehicle overturned at Nicasio Square at 9:30 p.m. Friday, but no one was injured. The Highway Patrol handled the mishap.

SAN GERONIMO – A man at 9:30 p.m. Saturday reported having had problems all day with his roommate, who spit on him, threatened him with gestures, and hit him. He said his roommate had just gotten out of jail.

FOREST KNOLLS – Deputies at 11:25 p.m. Friday received a report of a loud party at the top of Candelero Road. Officers found the noise coming from a small party of juveniles. No alcohol was involved, and the juveniles agreed to turn their rap music down.

FOREST KNOLLS – A man at 11:20 a.m. Friday gave deputies a second-hand report that the driver from an organic business was en route to Forest Knolls while smoking drugs. He told officers he did not know if the driver’s employer was aware of the drugs.

NICASIO – A woman reported seeing a fire at a Nicasio Valley Road stable. She said she couldn’t see what was on fire. When firefighters arrived, they determined it was just "leftovers" from a controlled burn earlier that day.

CHILENO VALLEY – A woman at 7 a.m. last Thursday reported that her husband had just seen a vehicle overturned on Wilson Hill Road. No authorities were around the vehicle, she added.

WOODACRE – A woman at 12:20 p.m. last Thursday complained of receiving numerous phone calls from fax machines. A deputy determined no crime was involved and gave her advice.

WOODACRE – A contractor working at Carson Road and Central Avenue complained at 2 p.m. last Thursday that two juveniles were hanging around his construction site verbally harassing him. He said they were there at the time.

TOMALES – The high school at 2:50 p.m. last Thursday reported that a "juvenile not in a good mental state...will not comply with rules [and was] walking around the school being followed by a teacher." The school subsequently said the juvenile was now at an administrator’s office, and a deputy determined no crime had occurred.

NICASIO – A woman asked to speak to a deputy "regarding a neighbor that is constantly having his dogs go to the bathroom on her property," a deputy reported. Officers referred the complaint to the Humane Society.

NICASIO – Deputies agreed that as a courtesy to San Francisco Police they would take a report from a Los Piños resident whose credit card had been fraudulently used. However, she declined to be interviewed by Marin deputies.

BOLINAS – An Ocean Avenue resident at 7:40 p.m. last Wednesday complained about a neighbor "playing super-loud music for about two hours." Deputies quoted her as saying "her house is vibrating from the force of the sound."

WOODACRE – A deputy at 7:35 p.m. Saturday arrested a man at Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and Railroad Avenue on a local warrant.

January 18, 2001 Sheriff's Calls

BOLINAS WYE – After a deputy at noon Friday stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation, the officer cited the motorist on charges of driving despite a suspended license, having a false registration tab on his license plate, and driving without insurance. The vehicle was impounded. The man was not.

TOMALES – A deputy at 9:20 a.m. Friday cited a 17-year-old boy at the high school on suspicion of possessing marijuana. The boy was released to his family.

DOGTOWN – A school at 11:45 a.m. Friday reported a boy had run away. A deputy later found the boy along Highway 1 a mile north of Stinson Beach. The youth was booked into juvenile hall on charges of resisting arrest.

STINSON BEACH – Someone found a license plate and turned it over to Seadrift Security. A deputy called the plate’s owner, who said he would pick the plate up the next time he was in Seadrift subdivision.

OLEMA VALLEY – A deputy, who was a half mile south of the cemetery at 9:40 p.m., arrested a 47-year-old man on charges of possessing half a gram of methamphetamine and possessing narcotics paraphernalia.

STINSON BEACH – A man at 11 p.m. Monday complained about a 1954 Chevrolet hotrod racing around town. He said the driver was about 45 years old.

SAN GERONIMO – An Open Space ranger at 11 a.m. Monday radioed deputies he was on a ridge above the golf course and had heard skids and metal crashing. He said he could not see a traffic accident, but the sound came from the direction of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.

INVERNESS PARK – A resident at noon Sunday asked a deputy for advice, saying he has custody of his 16-year-old daughter, but she had gone to her mother’s home because she didn’t want to do her chores.

MOON HILL – Deputies received a complaint at 2:35 p.m. Sunday that three motorcycles were riding on a fire road across Nicasio Valley Road from Roy’s Redwoods.

DOGTOWN – A resident at 3:15 p.m. Sunday told deputies he was concerned that cows in an unfenced area might wander onto Highway 1 and create a traffic hazard. A deputy notified the rancher who owns the cows.

INVERNESS – A citizen at 5 p.m. Sunday walked into the Sheriff’s Substation in Point Reyes Station and reported there was a disoriented woman at Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and Vision Road. A deputy drove through Inverness but could not find her.

DOGTOWN – A school at 9:45 p.m. Saturday reported that a 13-year-old boy had run away. The "agitated" youth had acted up prior to leaving, the school added.

INVERNESS PARK – A 2 a.m. Saturday, paramedics responded when a woman living along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard had breathing problems.

TOMALES – A man at 7:45 a.m. Saturday notified deputies that a front loader parked at a Martinoni Road site had been vandalized.

FOREST KNOLLS – A man at 8:20 a.m. Saturday reported hearing voices from inside an abandoned building at Castro Street and Montezuma Avenue. He said it sounded as if people in the shed might be drinking, adding that there has been an ongoing problem with people sleeping on the property.

WOODACRE – A sheriff’s dispatcher at 12:40 p.m. Saturday received a 911 call from a "disoriented" woman. When a deputy called the woman back, she said she hadn’t dialed out and that the deputies had called her first. She denied there was any emergency and hung up. When a deputy contacted the woman, she denied being in the cottage where the 911 call originated. She then said her phone was new and that she had been trying to dial 411.

POINT REYES STATION – A mother at 9:20 p.m. Friday asked a deputy to stand by during the exchange of a child with the child’s father.

CHILENO VALLEY – A county Department of Public Works employee at 12:40 p.m. Friday notified deputies there goats on Chileno Valley Road.

STINSON BEACH – A woman at 5:15 p.m. Friday notified deputies that a black Mercedes was "hanging over a cliff" near Panoramic Highway and Highway 1. She said seven or eight tourists from Asia were standing around the car. Deputies referred the mishap to the Highway Patrol.

BOLINAS – A Grove Road resident at 10 p.m. Thursday notified deputies that her estranged husband was banging on the front door and "all over the house." She told officers she was in a bedroom with a sleeping toddler, and her husband was still banging outside. Deputies quoted the resident as saying she had been arguing with him over money and that he finally stopped pounding on the house.

CHILENO VALLEY – Deputies at noon Thursday received word of cows on Chileno Valley Road. Their owner said he would handle the problem.

FOREST KNOLLS – A Castro Street resident at 7:45 p.m. told deputies a woman had come to her house and said she’d had a traffic accident in Woodacre and wanted to go to a man’s home. A deputy arrested the second woman in San Geronimo on charges of vehicle theft, battery, and violation of a court order.

POINT REYES STATION – Deputies received a complaint that a man had been parking nightly along the levee road and sleeping in his van, which now had a generator going. A deputy located the white van and found an elderly woman bird watching. He checked her identification.

STINSON BEACH – Deputies were notified at 9:40 a.m. that a license plate without a registration tag had been found on Calle del Arroyo.

BOLINAS – Bolinas firefighters at 11:15 a.m. quickly extinguished a fire along Jute Road.

POINT REYES STATION – Sheriff’s Lt. John Brunslik, commander of the West Marin Substation, has asked The Light to let readers know that a campaign to remove abandoned cars is underway in West Marin. Lt. Brunslik said the Sheriff’s Office will arrange to have abandoned vehicles towed off private property, as well as public property, if the landowner signs a release. The substation’s phone number is 663-1151.

January 11, 2001 Sheriff's Calls

POINT REYES STATION – A caller at noon complained to deputies that a 16- or 17-year-old bicyclist from Marshall had yelled at her, started to follow her, harassed her, and pushed her.

INVERNESS – Deputies early Sunday received word that two men had left Chicken Ranch Beach in a kayak the previous day and still had not returned by 1:25 a.m. At 7:30 a.m., the Park Service reported finding the men at Blue Gum Beach across Tomales Bay from Lawson’s Landing.

LAGUNITAS – The postmaster at 7:45 a.m. Monday reported that someone had broken into the postoffice during the night by removing a back window and the steel grate covering it. The postoffice was "totally ransacked," deputies reported, and the burglar(s) "removed an unknown amount of property. A deputy said the culprit(s) had opened mail and stolen stamps but left some property most adults would take, leaving him to think it was a juvenile case. Postal inspectors are handling the investigation.

BOLINAS – A Big Mesa resident last week reported that some items taken from her house in December had been returned.

POINT REYES STATION – A Mesa Road resident at 7:35 a.m. complained of receiving a phone call that possibly came from a collection agency. She said a credit card company had referred her account to "collections."

WOODACRE – A Railroad Avenue resident at 6:10 p.m. Sunday reported her 25-year-old female roommate was having a psychotic episode. At 10:40 p.m. the next day, the resident reported that the now-former roommate had returned to the house despite a court-issued temporary restraining order. She said the TRO had been served on her former roommate at 7 p.m.

POINT REYES STATION – A firefighter at 9 a.m. Monday reported there was an open door at the Grandi Building and that "the building does not look safe to enter." A deputy tried to contact the property’s manager at a local real estate office but could not.

BOLINAS – A man at Marin Way and Terrace Avenue at 1 p.m. Monday reported hearing a woman screaming off in the distance. Town firefighters checked but found nothing amiss.

BOLINAS – A Big Mesa resident at 8:30 a.m. Sunday complained of being harassed all night by a neighbor in his building shouting and threatening to burn the building down. The resident said the neighbor was very drunk and very belligerent.

MUIR BEACH – A woman at 1:30 p.m. Sunday notified deputies that a court has issued a temporary restraining order against her neighbor because of harassing incidents. She said the neighbor is now violating the TRO with a "picture" that annoys her. A deputy gave her advice.

LAGUNITAS – A man at 8:35 a.m. Saturday told deputies he needed advice about putting sandbags at the side of a road during a construction project. An officer referred the man to the county Planning Department, but the man said he still wanted to talk with a deputy. A deputy then gave him advice.

DILLON BEACH – A deputy at 11:10 a.m. Saturday notified Jet Skiers that it is illegal to use personal water craft in the area. The Jet Skis were then taken out of the water.

WOODACRE – A Central Avenue resident at 1:35 p.m. Saturday complained that his brand new horse trailer, which was parked in front of his house, had been reported by someone as abandoned. He said the trailer now has a yellow sticker on it, warning that the trailer will be towed away if it is not moved within 72 hours. A deputy noted a vehicle cannot be legally parked at the same place along a public road for more than 72 hours.

INVERNESS – An Edgemont Way resident at 3 p.m. Saturday reported hearing six gunshots. All was quiet when a deputy arrived, and the officer theorized the noise may have come from a wood splitter or duck hunters.

BOLINAS – A woman on Wharf Road at 8:40 p.m. Friday reported being attacked by a second woman, who was now near the gas station. The woman told deputies she was so upset that if the second woman came near her again, she would kill the second woman.

POINT REYES STATION – A merchant asked for extra patrols around a business after an employee was fired.

POINT REYES STATION – A bartender at 12:20 a.m. Saturday reported having problems with a man who had been drinking.

FOREST KNOLLS – A woman at 1:40 a.m. said she could hear a car driving around her neighborhood; she asked for extra patrols around her house, noting she’d had a confrontation with her gardener. A deputy did not find the car.

FOREST KNOLLS – A citizen flagged down a deputy to stand by while a pet cat was exchanged. However, there was "no result in ownership change," the officer reported.

POINT REYES STATION – A rescue helicopter was summoned after a man had chest pains at 11:30 p.m., but medics canceled the helicopter after checking on the man’s condition.

FALLON – A Fallon-Two Rock Road resident at midnight last Thursday morning reported hearing three gunshots followed by two more in a pasture behind her house.

WOODACRE – A Redwood Avenue resident at 8:25 a.m. last Thursday told deputies his ex-girlfriend wouldn’t get out of his car and that he needed to go to work. He said a court has issued a temporary-restraining order that she stay away from him. Deputies later reported the two were separated.

FOREST KNOLLS – A woman complained about homeless people sleeping in the lobby of the postoffice at night. She said the postmaster will request extra patrols. A deputy gave her advice.

STINSON BEACH – A Calle del Mar resident at 9:40 p.m. complained about an open fire on the beach. Deputies referred the matter to county firefighters.

BOLINAS – Two people at 11:30 p.m. independently reported a crash in the area of Ocean and Terrace avenues. Deputies learned that a Highway Patrol officer was holding a suspect in the bushes at gunpoint. The suspect was subsequently arrested on drunk driving charges.

January 4, 2001 Sheriff's Calls

POINT REYES STATION – A couple found a wallet in front of the bank and turned it over to officers. When deputies tried to notify the owner, they found her phone number is unlisted. By going through the wallet, however, they figured out who her boyfriend is and called him. He notified her, and she reclaimed her wallet.

DILLON BEACH – A woman lost her wallet Friday at Elephant Rocks.

TOMALES – Two workers at 1:30 p.m. Friday got into a fight at a ranch on Middle Road. After one worker cut the other with a knife, he was arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon. The other man’s wounds required stitches, a deputy reported.

DILLON BEACH – Deputies received word at 2:30 p.m. that a burglar had stolen property from a travel trailer parked next to Marine Way.

POINT REYES STATION – Round-the-world walker John Francis, who agreed that his name be used here, has recovered the art journal of his travels. The journal, which disappeared from his home, showed up at his nonprofit’s office in Inverness.

STINSON BEACH – A deputy on Highway 1 at 11:20 a.m. last Thursday arrested a man for an alleged parole violation.

STINSON BEACH – A Highway 1 resident at 12:30 a.m. complained about a drunk person. A sheriff’s dispatcher reported music in the background was so loud she couldn’t understand the caller. A deputy arrested two people on charges of public drunkenness.

BOLINAS – A Brighton Avenue resident at 2:15 a.m. New Year’s Day complained about hearing fireworks a half hour earlier.

FOREST KNOLLS – A resident at 2:18 a.m. New Year’s Day complained about a male yelling in the vicinity of Montezuma Road and Forest Drive. She said she believed he had now left the area. The male was, in fact, gone when a deputy arrived.

BOLINAS – A man at 9:20 a.m. Sunday called deputies from San Francisco to report having left his backpack by the town tennis courts the previous night. He said it was gone in the morning. Deputies notified the man his backpack had been found, and he returned to Bolinas to pick it up before heading home to Lake Tahoe.

DILLON BEACH – A man at 11:30 a.m. Sunday complained that two people had just launched Jet Skis in violation of the law. He said they were the same Jet Skiers deputies had admonished the previous day. The Jet Skiers were gone when an officer arrived.

BOLINAS – Park rangers at 1 a.m. Sunday notified deputies of a non-injury traffic accident on Mesa Road. Deputies referred the matter to the Highway Patrol.

TOMALES – A man was taken to Petaluma Valley Hospital Sunday after being shot in the bum with a BB pellet while he was setting up targets at a ranch along Valley Ford-Franklin School Road.

CHILENO VALLEY – Medics responded when a woman reported that another woman had taken an excessive amount of pain pills. The second woman had already calmed down by the time deputies arrived.

TOMALES – A rancher at 8:45 a.m. Sunday reported that local residents had been removing roadsigns marking the Highway 1 detour north of town. As a result, he said, motorists had been driving over a bridge that is under construction and not ready for use.

BOLINAS – Two Kale Road residents about 9 p.m. on New Year’s Eve complained of a fire on Bolinas Beach. A deputy determined the flames were coming from an open, backyard fire and that the homeowners had a permit for it.

MARSHALL –At 9:40 p.m. Sunday, a dispatcher reported receiving a complaint about a "possible sleeper in a vehicle driving on the wrong side of the road." Although the call was confusing, an officer determined that a someone must be illegally spending the night in a vehicle and that it was parked in the wrong direction beside Highway 1.

BOLINAS – A bar at 10:10 p.m. Saturday reported that an unwanted patron had just gone outside. The bar subsequently reported the patron had gone home.

FALLON – A man at 10:15 p.m. Saturday complained that his brother had become drunk and then unruly. He said no weapons and no vehicles were involved and that there were six other people in the house.

POINT REYES STATION – Deputies were summoned at 10:35 p.m. Saturday when a woman in her 90s became combative. She was taken to Marin General Hospital.

POINT REYES STATION – A Tomasini Canyon Road resident at 8:30 p.m. complained about loud music repeatedly coming from cars parked near the gate to the landfill. She said the culprits also dump beer cans on the road. At 9:20 p.m., she called deputies again and reported the rowdies now appeared to be using drugs.

OLEMA – A man at 10 p.m. told deputies he needed help finding friends on Meadow Trail. A deputy looked for them and found them.

TOMALES – A pickup truck overturned on Highway 1 just south of the Tomales-Petaluma Road at 12:25 a.m., blocking one lane. Medics and Highway Patrol officers responded, but no one was at the crash scene when they arrived.

STINSON BEACH – A deputy on Highway 1 at 12:25 a.m. Monday arrested a man on charges of public drunkenness. The man was later released without a formal complaint.

INVERNESS – A burglar last Thursday broke the rear window to a store along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard and stole various items.

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