Former Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy accused of 2007 rape

A 2007 rape in Santa Rosa has been traced to a former Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy and Petaluma police officer who was convicted of a similar crime in Baltimore nearly a decade ago and is serving a 50-year sentence, investigators say.

Authorities say DNA evidence links Ricky Marion Bostic, 52, to the rape of a woman in her 30s who was attacked by a man who broke into her Juilliard Park home.

“The victim does not know Bostic at all,” Santa Rosa police Sgt. Chris Mahurin said Friday. “We believe she was targeted, but they did not know each other.”

Police say Bostic was a sheriff’s deputy who was off-duty at the time of the assault.

A criminal complaint shows he’s charged with burglary, assault during a burglary and raping an unconscious person in connection with the April 8, 2007 crime.

Sonoma County Sheriff Mark Essick said his department would cooperate with the investigation.

“I am deeply disturbed by the allegations involving one of our former employees,” he said in a statement. “Mr. Bostic’s acts do not reflect the high standards of the men and women of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.

“It’s my sincere hope that justice be served to the victim.”

Bostic is in custody at the Roxbury Correctional Institution in Hagerstown, Maryland, where he’s serving a 50-year sentence after being convicted in 2013 of sexually assaulting two women in the Baltimore area.

Sonoma County officials plan to extradite him to face charges here.

“We believe we have sufficient evidence to prove that he committed a heinous offense,” District Attorney Jill Ravitch said. “We see how laws have changed in California. It’s imperative that we ensure that this man stays incarcerated as long as possible.”

The assault had gone unsolved, and it wasn’t until last December that investigators submitted evidence from a sexual assault examination kit to the Department of Justice for analysis. The evidence matched up with Bostic’s DNA in April.

Mahurin said investigators interviewed Bostic last month. He would not disclose the results of the interview and said he was unsure whether Bostic had an attorney.

Bostic was a Petaluma police officer from May 1998 to April 2001.

Petaluma police Lt. Tim Lyons said few people on staff know Bostic, and he is unaware of any notable duties or achievements by the former officer.

“I can say he left here in good standing and was hired by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office,” Lyons said.

In 2005, Bostic was involved in the death of a suspect who was shocked with a Taser while fighting deputies in 2005, but all parties were cleared of wrongdoing.

Court records show Bostic was convicted of DUI on April 14, 2009 and sentenced to three years of probation. He resigned from the Sheriff’s Office the next month and moved to Maryland.

Bostic had been working as a security guard for Greater Baltimore Medical Center in 2013, according to the Baltimore Sun.

He was convicted of breaking into a home on May 24, 2012 and sexually assaulting two women in separate rooms. Baltimore County police linked Bostic to the assaults via fingerprints, DNA and a cellphone camera with pictures of one of the victims, the Sun reported.

Police tied Bostic to six other burglaries and another sexual assault over a 56-day period that summer in the Baltimore area, and they recovered property that included credit cards, Xbox and Wii gaming systems and a laptop computer.

Local investigators haven’t uncovered any other incidents involving Bostic in Sonoma County, but Mahurin said anyone with information should contact authorities.

The victim from April 2007 has been offered assistance from the county’s Family Justice Center and the DA’s victim services staff will help her navigate the court system, Ravitch said.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi. You can reach Staff Writer Lori A. Carter at 707-521-5470 or lori.carter@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @loriacarter.