Santa Rosa felon arrested on suspicion of carrying loaded, concealed pistol

A convicted felon on probation for animal cruelty was found walking down a rural street with a loaded pistol Tuesday by a Sonoma County sheriff’s deputy responding to a call of two men fighting with sticks, the Sheriff’s Office reported.

The deputy was driving down Stewarts Point-Skaggs Spring Road at 6:30 p.m. when he saw Robert Southwick III, 31, of Santa Rosa walking down the road with a chair in his hand, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.

When Southwick spotted the deputy, he reached for his waistband, prompting the deputy to stop the car and draw his firearm on Southwick, the Sheriff’s Office said. Southwick complied with the deputy’s commands and was found to be in possession of a loaded .22 caliber pistol, the Sheriff’s Office said.

He also was determined to be one of the men reported fighting with sticks, but neither he nor the other person involved in the fight wanted to press charges, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Southwick was brought to Sonoma County Jail and booked for carrying a loaded, concealed weapon as a felon, the Sheriff’s Office said.

His prior felony stemmed from a 2014 incident where he assaulted a 75-year-old woman in her trailer at a Santa Rosa retirement community, leading the victim’s son to stab Southwick in the buttocks with a knife.

Southwick was put on probation on July 12 for animal cruelty after harming a dog, the Sheriff’s Office said.

You can reach Staff Writer Nick Rahaim at 707-521-5203 or nick.rahaim@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @nrahaim.