Sheriff: Santa Rosa man arrested after pointing gun during argument

A 22-year-old man suspected of pointing a gun at somebody during an argument was arrested Sunday after a SWAT team raided his home in southeast Santa Rosa, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said.

A Sheriff’s Office helicopter hovered above the home in the 2200 block of Jasper Lane during the raid, and that prompted a flurry of inquires from neighbors about the commotion, the Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.

Kevin Cortez was booked into the Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of felony assault with a deadly weapon, felony false imprisonment and misdemeanor brandishing a firearm. His bail was set at $100,000.

The Sheriff’s Office reported that at about 2:30 a.m. on Sunday, Cortez drove up behind two of his acquaintances who were sitting in a parked car in the 17000 block of Highway 12 in Agua Caliente.

“He parked his car behind them so they couldn’t leave and confronted them with a handgun,” the Sheriff’s Office said.

Cortez argued with the two people and pointed his gun at one of them before he left the area, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The Sheriff’s Office got a search warrant and began combing through Cortez’s home at about 8:45 p.m. on Sunday. The agency’s helicopter, Henry 1, watched over the scene from above because authorities were looking for a suspect believed to be armed, said Misti Wood, a Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman.

During the search, detectives learned that Cortez was in the 2400 block of Midway Drive in Santa Rosa, where they found and arrested him.

Detectives found a loaded pistol in a backpack that was inside a car in Cortez’s possession, according to Wood.

You can reach Staff Writer Matt Pera at matthew.pera@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @Matt__Pera.