Cloverdale man jailed on suspicion of vandalizing historic Dante Hotel & Bar

Cloverdale police suspect a 27-year-old man kicked out of a local watering hole for being unruly returned to the Dante Hotel & Bar on Railroad Avenue after it had closed to smash windows and vandalize one of the town’s oldest businesses.

Police found the suspected vandal, Kevin Robert Stordahl, bleeding from a hand and “staggering down the street” several blocks away, Chief Stephen Cramer said. Officers believe his hand was cut while breaking the windows, Cramer said. The break-in occurred between when the bar closed at 2 a.m. Sunday and the damage was reported about 8:20 a.m.

A employee of the bar - which is no longer a hotel - told police Stordahl had become belligerent with other patrons and the bartenders, and was “forcibly removed” from the business, Cramer said. The suspected intruder also discharged a fire extinguisher, spreading the device’s powder throughout the business.

Founded in 1888 as the New Toscano, the business was renamed Dante Hotel & Bar around 1936.

Stordahl’s hand wound was treated at Healdsburg District Hospital before he was booked into the Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of felony burglary and vandalism as well as a probation violation. He’s being held without bail.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 707-521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.