Police: 6 teens suspected in Santa Rosa bicyclist’s ‘brutal’ stabbing

Six teenagers were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of attacking and stabbing a bicyclist last week before they were chased away by residents of a Santa Rosa neighborhood, police said.

Officials described them as boys between the ages of 15 and 17, all of whom were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, robbery, and participating in a street gang, according to the Santa Rosa Police Department.

Several were arrested while on their way to class Wednesday morning, police said.

The attack, which involved a 41-year-old Santa Rosa man, occurred at about 3:45 p.m. Jan. 11 in the area of Bellevue Ranch Park, 2645 Arrowhead Drive, in the city’s Bellevue Ranch neighborhood.

Santa Rosa police Sgt. Patricia Seffens said the incident may have occurred when the victim approached a group of 15 juveniles about being in the park. They did not know each other.

The juveniles chased him to the 2100 block of Bellevue Ranch Road, where six of them “began brutally assaulting the victim and stole his bicycle,” police said.

The victim was stabbed eight to 10 times, police said, including once on the side of the neck near the spinal column.

Several witnesses dialed 911 and one passerby chased off the group by driving in their direction and yelling at them to stop, according to police.

One of the witnesses was a nurse who helped the victim before paramedics arrived. He was treated at a local hospital before being released.

The juveniles fled the area and police say surveillance footage shows at least four of them leaving in a vehicle that had been parked at Elsie Allen High School, about two blocks from where the incident occurred.

Four suspects were arrested while heading to class Wednesday and a fifth was arrested after leaving home for a court hearing. Arrested were:

• A 15-year-old in the 200 block of Cranbrook Way
• A 16-year-old in the 100 block of Gio Drive
• A 17-year-old in the 500 block of Southwood Drive
• A 16-year-old in the 2600 block of Northcoast Street
• A 16-year-old in the 4300 block of Brookshire Court

The sixth suspect, a 17-year-old boy, was already in custody for an unrelated probation violation, police said.

The suspect arrested along Brookshire is accused of having a disassembled gun in his backpack plus a 3D printer and other gun parts in his home.

Investigators searched each suspect’s home and found knives, gang paraphernalia, clothing and electronic devices, police said.

The suspect arrested along Brookshire also is accused of being a minor in possession of a handgun, carrying a concealed weapon and unlawful manufacturing of guns.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi