Suspect arrested in attack on disabled Sonoma man

<p>A 22-year-old Boyes Hot Springs man was in custody Tuesday on suspicion of the April 25 beating and stabbing of popular Sonoma resident Austin Ridge, Sonoma County sheriff's officials said.</p><p>Logan Dunning was being held without bail at county jail in Santa Rosa on suspicion of attempted murder, mayhem and crimes against a person with disabilities, Lt. Dennis O'Leary said.</p><p>Dunning already was in jail after being charged with felony arson in connection with a series of fires in parked cars in a west Santa Rosa neighborhood. </p><p>“We are relieved,” said Ridge's mother, Kimberly Ridge. She said no one in her family knew Dunning before the attack.</p><p>Tests on a knife found at Dunning's home indicated it was used during the attack on Austin Ridge as he rode his customized tricycle home, O'Leary said.</p><p>“The DNA linked him to the crime,” O'Leary said. “There was blood evidence at Dunning's home that belonged to the victim.”</p><p>Ridge, 28, is a popular figure in Sonoma, a gregarious physically disabled man who rode miles each day around the city, socializing along the way. He was disabled about ten years ago in a car crash.</p><p>He is at home recuperating after a lengthy hospital stay.</p><p>A newspaper delivery person found Ridge beaten and bloody at about 4:30 a.m. on a Wednesday, lying on the ground on residential Lucas Avenue in Boyes Hot Springs.</p><p>Dunning is suspected of beating Ridge with his fists, a rock and stabbing him, O'Leary said. Ridge suffered a broken jaw, fractured nose and significant head injuries as well as stab wounds to his arms and torso.</p><p>“We are still investigating the motive at this point,” and Ridge has not been able to tell detectives much about the attack, O'Leary said. </p><p><NO1>Kimberly Ridge said that wires keeping his jaw closed to let it heal may be removed next week.</p><p>“We are hopeful that as his injuries heal he will be able to tell us more,” O'Leary said.</p><p><NO>For weeks, detectives had little evidence to pursue. On May 1, about a week after the assault on Ridge, Dunning was arrested by Santa Rosa police in connection with a series of burglaries and fires. Dunning is accused of taking small items from vehicles parked in driveways and then setting fires at about midnight April 1 in a neighborhood south of West Third Street, police said. </p><p><NO1>The fires destroyed a Nissan Versa and damaged two pickups and a sedan, police said. <NO><NO1></p><p><NO>Dunning lives near the corner of Lucas Avenue and Boyes Boulevard, near where Ridge was attacked. Given Dunning's recent arrest, a Santa Rosa sergeant called sheriff's detectives and suggested they look into the possibility that he was involved.</p><p>“When you hear something like that and this guy lives in the area, you run with it,” O'Leary said. “You never know.”</p><p>The hunch led detectives to search his home on the day of his May 1 arrest. The forensics team combed the residence, securing a knife, clothing and other items. They were sent to a private lab to ensure a quicker turnaround than at state labs, O'Leary said. </p><p>Dunning was arrested Monday at the jail.</p><p>On Tuesday, Ridge rode a motorized wheelchair through town to the farmer's market near the Sonoma Plaza, his mother said. His family ordered a new customized tricycle and hope it will be ready for the town's July 4 parade so he can take his usual spot in the caravan.</p><p>“His friends and family are all going to be in the parade to thank everybody,” Kimberly Ridge said.</p><p><NO1>Dunning is due in court at 9 a.m. today for a preliminary hearing in the arson case, court files show.</p>