Police: Five Santa Rosa men arrested with loaded gun

The arrests occurred during an already busy Tuesday night as police were investigating a stabbing at a westside park and evening gunfire in the same area.|
RANDI ROSSMANN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Five Santa Rosa men were arrested Tuesday night after officers found a loaded handgun in their car, Santa Rosa police said.

Officers stopped the men about 11:35 p.m. on Wolfberry Way in southeast Santa Rosa after getting a call about a suspicious car. Police said they searched the car and found a loaded 9mm handgun, which wasn’t registered to any of the men.

The five - Pita Bale Matasau Jr, 18; Biniam Kennedy Gereamliak, 18; Levani Delaivuna Dominiko, 21; Simione Sema Dominiko, 21; and Sitthidet Phiakeo, 19 - were arrested on suspicion of carrying a loaded gun in public and possessing someone else’s loaded gun, both felonies. They were booked into Sonoma County Jail on $30,000 bail.

The arrests occurred during an already busy Tuesday night as Santa Rosa police officers investigated an afternoon stabbing at a westside park and an evening shooting in the same area. No one was arrested in those cases. Although the two incidents appeared to be gang related, police were trying to determine whether they were connected.

- Randi Rossmann

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.
Send a letter to the editor