Graton man in viral video charged with felony resisting arrest

Sonoma County prosecutors have filed felony charges against a Graton man who was subdued by a sheriff's K9 dog and stunned with a Taser last month during a confrontation with deputies outside his home, an incident captured on video that raised community concerns over deputies' use of force.

Jason Anglero-Wyrick, 35, faces two felony counts of resisting arrest by means of threats and violence for the April 4 incident, according to charges filed last month in Sonoma County Superior Court. His attorney, however, claims deputies were the ones who overstepped and is preparing a civil lawsuit contending they used excessive force to detain Anglero-Wyrick.

The confrontation, which went viral after video from a witness's cellphone and deputies' body-worn cameras was posted online, was set in motion when a Forestville man reported Anglero-Wyrick had allegedly pointed a gun at him and his wife earlier that day and had threatened to break into their home.

Warning: Graphic video

A Sonoma County K9 officer, his handler and several deputies located Anglero-Wyrick at his home in Graton. Both Anglero-Wyrick and Naustachia Green, a woman who lived on the property and who was also arrested, kept their hands in the air throughout their initial encounter with deputies at the edge of the property.

The Sheriff's Office said Anglero-Wyrick failed to listen to deputies' commands to get on the ground upon their arrival. Less than a minute after making contact with Anglero-Wyrick, deputies used a stun gun and then deployed the K9 dog, Vader, on Anglero- Wyrick. The dog latched on to Anglero-Wyrick's leg for about a minute after Anglero-Wyrick was handcuffed and it appeared the handler struggled to get the dog to let go.

No guns were located at Anglero-Wyrick's home or car after his arrest and the man who reported Anglero- Wyrick to authorities became uncooperative with deputies during their investigation, Sonoma County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Juan Valencia said earlier this month.

Charges for brandishing a firearm and making threats were not recommended to prosecutors because deputies didn't have a victim or an independent witness in those alleged crimes, Valencia added.

“We can't seek prosecution (in certain misdemeanor cases) if there's no witness or victim,” Valencia said.

Green was charged with resisting arrest and battery on a peace officer, both misdemeanors, court documents showed.

Anglero-Wyrick, who deputies knew was on parole for a prior assault with a deadly weapon, was additionally charged for misdemeanor resisting arrest and enhancements for having a prior felony conviction for a serious crime, according to charging documents filed by the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office on April 6.

Two enhancements accusing Anglero-Wyrick of committing a crime while out on bail stemmed from an ongoing August 2019 case investigated by Santa Rosa Police, in which Anglero-Wyrick was allegedly found in possession of 300 grams of methamphetamine and an assault weapon, Sonoma County Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Staebell said in an email.

“This is the information that was known to deputies as they went to detain him for the current threat with a firearm,” Staebell said. “The evidence received so far indicates that those officers attempted to detain him and he physically resisted them.”

Santa Rosa attorney George Boisseau, who is representing Anglero-Wyrick in the April 2020 and August 2019 criminal cases, did not return calls and an email requesting comment by deadline Monday.

Anglero-Wyrick, who also did not return a request for comment on Monday, pleaded not guilty to all charges in the August 2019 case, the Sonoma County court website showed. He has not entered a plea to the April 2020 charges.

Izaak Schwaiger, a local civil rights attorney who has been retained by Anglero-Wyrick, said he planned to file an excessive force lawsuit on behalf of Anglero-Wyrick in connection with the April 4 incident. He declined to discuss what the lawsuit would entail or provide a timeline for when he planned to file it.

An internal affairs investigation into the incident, which is common practice whenever a deputy uses force on another person, was still underway Monday, Sonoma County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Misti Wood said.

You can reach Staff Writer Nashelly Chavez at 707-521-5203 or nashelly.chavez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @nashellytweets.