Police: Man arrested after breaking into Rohnert Park home armed with ax

Rohnert Park Police on Sunday arrested a Tuolumne County man who they said broke into a home while armed with an ax.

The man had smashed though a sliding glass backdoor of the home, located in the 400 block of Bruce Avenue, and walked inside, the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety said in a news release Monday.

A man in the residence at the time escaped through a front door and called 911 at 7:25 p.m. Sunday. He told police he did not know the man, and he was not injured.

Officers set up a perimeter around the home and issued a Nixle alert that asked residents to avoid Bruce Avenue and Adrian Drive due to police activity.

Police repeatedly instructed the man to leave the home, but he did not reply, police said. When they approached the front door, officers saw him sitting on a couch inside.

Officers entered the home and detained the man, who was no longer armed, without incident.

The man was identified as Tage Wert, 43, of Groveland. He was arrested and booked into the Sonoma County jail on suspicion of one felony count of vandalism. He was issued a $10,000 bail.

Authorities retrieved the ax from inside the home, but it wasn’t close to Wert when police entered, Rohnert Park Deputy Chief Kevin Kilgore said.

Anyone with information regarding the case is encouraged to contact the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety at 707-584-2600 and refer to case No. 23-1676.

You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at madison.smalstig@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @madi.smals.