Santa Rosa sideshow shooting leaves 2 injured; no arrests reported

Police continue to search for the person or people responsible for gunfire than wounded two people Wednesday night at an illegal sideshow in Santa Rosa.

The gunfire rang out about 30 minutes into the illegal show, which started at about 10:30 p.m. at Dutton Avenue and Ninth Street, according to the Santa Rosa Police Department.

Drops of blood and several shell casings were discovered at the southwest corner of the intersection, but the victims had been transported to area hospitals by unspecified parties.

Both victims, described as 20-year-old men from Santa Rosa and Woodland, are expected to recover after bullets struck them near their hips, Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Chris Mahurin said.

Between 200 and 300 people with 50 vehicles were at the sideshow, which began about 9:40 p.m. at Petaluma Hill Road and Frazier Avenue before the crowd moved to Dutton and Ninth.

Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into a law a bipartisan bill officially identifying sideshows as events involving at least two vehicles that block traffic for the purpose of performing stunts, speed contests or reckless driving for an audience.

Wednesday’s sideshow led to two arrests following a pair of pursuits.

Attendees dispersed when shots were fired and a Honda Accord was “rapidly accelerating and fleeing the intersection,” according to the Police Department.

An officer chased it for several miles believing its driver may be linked to the shooting. The officer used a PITT maneuver to stop him in the Kaiser Permanente hospital parking lot at Mendocino Avenue and Bicentennial Way.

The driver was identified as Santa Rosa resident Miguel Morfin Santana, 18, who had a pellet gun, according to the Police Department. His car was impounded and he was arrested on suspicion of evading a police officer and resisting arrest after he ran from his car, according to police.

Later, at about 11:30 p.m., there was a slow-speed pursuit involving a 17-year-old suspect who was driving recklessly and believed to have come from the sideshow.

A police sergeant tried to stop him at Piner Road and Coffey Lane but the suspect continued driving for two minutes before stopping at Range Avenue and Bicentennial.

The Santa Rosa boy was arrested on suspicion of evading police and driving without a license, according to the Police Department.

Dispatchers received 248 calls about the sideshows between 8 and 11 p.m., according to the Police Department.

Mark Pedroia, who lives about four blocks south of Dutton and Ninth, said Thursday that he could hear gunfire, tires screeching and fireworks going off late Wednesday.

“We’re inside our house with double-pane windows and we’re hearing it,” he said.

On Thursday, the skidmarks on the ground at the intersection of Dutton and Ninth were still clearly visible. But Pedroia was quick to add that not all of those marks were recent, as the area has a history of sideshow activity.

One thing, though, sets this week’s gathering apart from its predecessors.

“We now have gunshot victims,” Pedroia added. “That’s different.”

Sideshows have been a significant problem across Santa Rosa in recent years.

In September 2020, two girls were injured after they were hit by a Ford Mustang during a sideshow that sprang up at Santa Rosa Marketplace along Santa Rosa Avenue.

Last year, attention fell on Sebastopol Road at West Avenue where sideshows had become prevalent. During one such gathering two young women were stabbed.

City officials began looking for ways to curb sideshows around Santa Rosa. Their efforts included impounding vehicles linked to gatherings, and installing raised dots at Sebastopol and West to deter reckless driving.

Police officers monitored gatherings from a distance and also recorded license plates. When possible they stopped and impounded vehicles.

These steps have garnered criticism from local residents who contend that police officers should break up sideshows right away. Authorities, however, have maintained that large, unpredictable crowds make that sort of response impossible and may even be more dangerous than letting the shows wind down on their own.

Sideshows develop with little notice and crowds outweigh patrol staffing, police say.

Pedroia said he would like law enforcement agencies to work together and develop a unified response to curbing sideshow activity.

Multiple agencies responded in November when a group out of the Sacramento area organized a wave of sideshows in a single night.

Any vehicle linked to a sideshow can be identified as “wanted” and impounded for 30 days, according to the Police Department. More than 50 vehicles have been impounded since last year.

Registered owners are required to pay all associated fees, which add up to more than $2,500.

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