Police: Santa Rosa woman arrested after selling stolen bats to undercover detective

A Santa Rosa woman was arrested Wednesday afternoon after selling an undercover detective stolen softball bats worth $1,000, police said.

Rose Ruth Hernandez, 33, was booked into Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of violating probation and possessing stolen property, methamphetamines and narcotics paraphernalia, Rohnert Park police said in a statement.

A Rohnert Park resident Monday reported to police a package with three softball bats totaling $1,000 had been stolen from his porch on the 400 block of Alta Avenue. Footage from a neighbor’s security camera showed a woman swiping the bats and running back to a waiting car, police said.

The victim then called police the following day after finding his bats for sale on the OfferUp app, police said.

Detectives arranged to meet the suspect Wednesday afternoon in Santa Rosa, offering to pay the $400 asking price for the bats, Rohnert Park police Sgt. Jeff Justice said. When the deal was done, detectives arrested Hernandez, who had meth and drug paraphernalia and was on felony probation, police said.

Hernandez told police her 15-year-old daughter had stolen the bats from the porch, which police said they confirmed through security footage. However, the daughter hasn’t been arrested, Justice said.

- Hannah Beausang