Sebastopol police arrest suspected shoplifter who fled on bike

A man suspected of stealing groceries from a Sebastopol store was spotted pedaling away while carrying two baskets full of high-end steak and shrimp and was apprehended Sunday on suspicion of fleeing police, officials said.

Officer Jacques Levesque spotted the bicyclist, later identified as Santa Rosa-area transient Ray Ruben Guerra, 28, at about 1:30 p.m. on Petaluma Avenue, Sgt. Dave Harston said.

Levesque tried to stop him, but Guerra headed down a bicycle trail and then across a field near Highway 12, ditching the groceries as he pedaled away, Harston said.

Although it would be a misdemeanor offense, authorities launched a ground and air search for the man because it was initially believed he may have been an inmate who had escaped from a Sonoma County Jail work crew, police officials said.

That turned to be unfounded. No details about the escapee were available late Sunday.

Guerra was arrested at about 5:30 p.m. after a resident on Ozone Lane called 911 to report seeing a suspicious person walking east on Highway 12 and Llano Road near the Joe Rodota Trail, police said.

Guerra remained in the Sonoma County Jail late Sunday on suspicion of resisting arrest. Police suspect he stole about $400 worth of groceries from Sebastopol’s Safeway store and will file a report for the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office to consider the additional charge.