Woman reports sexual assault in a U-Haul in Santa Rosa

Santa Rosa police are still trying to piece together how an armed robbery, a stuck U-Haul truck and a naked woman running down Third Street on Monday night are related.

One arrest has been made in the bizarre case, but more questions than answers remain in the ongoing investigation, officials said.

“It’s very confusing,” Lt. Mike Lazzarini said this week. “There are a variety of different sources of information and several things are not adding up.”

Police have confirmed an armed robbery took place in east Santa Rosa around 5:45 a.m. Monday.

A resident walking in the area of Sherbrook Drive off Mission Boulevard reported he was robbed at gunpoint by a man police believe was connected to a U-Haul truck.

Twelve hours later, police received another call of an incident involving the same U-Haul. Police received reports that a naked woman escaped from the back of a U-Haul and ran down Third Street, near North Dutton Avenue, Lazzarini said.

Someone, presumably a passing motorist, brought the woman to the Santa Rosa Police Department, where she told investigators she had been sexually assaulted by two men in the back of the U-Haul, Lazzarini said.

She told police she had initially gone willingly with the men after meeting them near Santa Rosa Plaza, possibly after the U-Haul got wedged under a parking structure or overhang, according to Lazzarini.

She claimed they later sexually assaulted her, though getting clarity on the assault and other details in the case was challenging because of the woman’s “excessive use of drugs,” he said.

Travis Merrida, 43, of Santa Rosa, was booked into Sonoma County Jail on a robbery charge, Lazzarini said.

Merrida was located by police at the Third Street location and identified as being involved in the earlier robbery, Lazzarini said.

Whether any arrests would be made in the sexual assault would depend on the investigation, which remained active, Lazzarini said.

“There is a tremendous amount that just doesn’t add up,” he said. “It’s so convoluted that the more you talk about it, the more confusing it gets.”

You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 707-521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @srcitybeat.