Armed man arrested after Santa Rosa foot chase

A Vallejo man remained in custody Wednesday, suspected of carrying a loaded handgun and assaulting a Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy during a fight before his arrest in Santa Rosa, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

When arrested, Horatio Vigil, 39, was wanted on four Sonoma County warrants involving drugs and animal cruelty.

He was taken into custody after a 2 a.m. chase Monday, starting when a deputy tried to stop a bike rider traveling on the wrong side of Santa Rosa Avenue with a cloth concealing his face, said Sgt. Spencer Crum in a news release.

The rider wouldn’t stop, and the deputy pulled his vehicle, with lights flashing, in front of the bike’s path. The bike struck the car and the man ran, followed by the deputy on foot, Crum said.

The chase headed into a Santa Rosa Avenue mobile home park, where the deputy caught up to the man at times, but the man struggled away.

At one point, the deputy had the man against a wall, and the suspect tried to hit him with a metal object but the deputy ducked and the chase resumed, Crum said. When a second deputy arrived, the man was handcuffed and arrested. Retracing the chase, deputies found a loaded handgun they believe the suspect dropped as he ran.

Vigil was arrested on suspicion of gun charges, assault with a deadly weapon, being under the influence of drugs, obstructing deputies and the warrants. Vigil was taken to a hospital for medical aid then booked into the Sonoma County Jail. Bail was $90,000.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. ?On Twitter@rossmannreport.