Sheriff: Rohnert Park home repeatedly burglarized while owner away

A Rohnert Park resident away from home for weeks was repeatedly burglarized by a former employee who was caught, along with five others, after a tip from a suspicious neighbor, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.

The former employee, identified as Antonio Ruben Diaz Jr., 36, and other suspects had repeatedly taken items from the Eagle Ridge home during the resident’s absence in the last three weeks, sheriff’s Sgt. Spencer Crum said Wednesday.

The group was arrested early Monday morning after a 911 call at ?11:45 p.m. Sunday alerted deputies that people were burglarizing the supposedly vacant home, Crum said.

Deputies surrounded the home, aided by a CHP helicopter, and moved in. They found five people on the property plus a 12-year-old boy - the son of one of the suspects - and Diaz was stopped while running from the home, Crum said.

The suspects had come to the eastern hillside home with a truck and trailer and had loaded numerous items into the pickup. On the trailer was a Kubota tractor taken from the property, Crum said.

Investigators searched Diaz’s home in Santa Rosa and turned up more items including power tools, water pumps, motors and building materials detectives suspect had been taken from the Rohnert Park property.

Arrested were Diaz; Howard Rigney, 49, of Santa Rosa; Ryan Nash, 32, of Rohnert Park; Thomas Hance, 32, of Petaluma; Robin Winder, 27, of Santa Rosa; and Ashley Cortez, 35, address unknown.

They were all arrested on suspicion of burglary, grand theft, conspiracy and child endangerment and booked into the Sonoma County Jail.

Bail was set at $50,000 for most of the suspects. Diaz remained in custody Wednesday, facing seven felony charges and enhancements involving a prior prison sentence. Nash remained in custody without bail because of violations stemming from a prior prison incarceration, according to jail records.

You can reach Staff Writer Randi Rossmann at 707-521-5412 or randi.rossmann@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter?@rossmannreport.