Man arrested in two of 27 tire slashing reports in the SRJC area, police say

Police say surveillance footage from a business on College Avenue helped them make the arrest.|
NASHELLY CHAVEZ
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

A Santa Rosa man was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of slashing tires in the downtown and Santa Rosa Junior College neighborhoods last week.

Thomas Wheat, 43, was booked into Sonoma County Jail after surveillance footage from a College Avenue business appeared to show him puncturing the wheels of two cars at about 9:55 a.m. Jan. 16, Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Dave Marconi said.

On that and the following day, officers received more than two dozen reports of slashed tires, including on Humboldt Street, Terrace Way and Lomitas Avenue, but investigators had no evidence tying the suspect to the other crimes as of Wednesday, Marconi said.

Santa Rosa police notified local agencies they were searching for Wheat, and they received a call Wednesday from Santa Rosa Junior College campus police, who had him in custody. Wheat is suspected of felony vandalism as well as a misdemeanor count of trespassing on school grounds after being denied access, the Sonoma County Jail records show.

A $2,500 reward is offered for information leading to the arrest of a suspect or suspects in the vandalism, police said. Witnesses should call the Santa Rosa Police Department’s Property Crimes Team at 707-543-3575.

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