Fight along Highway 101 in Mendocino County leads to injury, arrest

An argument Tuesday afternoon along Highway 101 in southern Mendocino County turned violent, resulting in a Santa Rosa man being flown to a hospital and a Healdsburg man driven to jail, according to the CHP Wednesday.

The victim was hit in the head with a heavy metal object during the fight, which took place near Squaw Rock, along the Russian River. Officers Wednesday were looking for the object, which had been thrown toward the river when the suspect left the area, CHP Officer Kylar Adams said.

The sight of two men fighting along the highway generated numerous 911 calls from passing drivers. The calls came in at about 4:50 p.m.

“We got lots of calls. There were quite a few witnesses,” Adams said.

When officers arrived, the involved parties had gone.

A woman driving the victim, headed south into Sonoma County, had called 911 and officers got her to stop near Geysers Road so an ambulance could get to the man.

Leonard J. Devilbiss, 39, was taken by Reach medical helicopter to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

CHP officers then got a description of a gold SUV they believed the suspect, Brandon Magill, 37, of Healdsburg was in and a be-on-the-lookout alert was issued throughout the area, Adams said.

An officer soon spotted the vehicle on Old Redwood Highway, north of Cloverdale. Magill was stopped at gunpoint and arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, Adams said. Officers took him to Ukiah where he was booked into the Mendocino County Jail.

Officers determined Magill and a woman had been traveling south on Highway 101 when they had car trouble and stopped. She called Devilbiss to get her and when he arrived, an argument broke out and the Santa Rosa man was assaulted, Adams said.

The pair then left in his car and Magill left the area in another vehicle.