On January 7, 2016 at about 9:23 PM, Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from a woman reporting a man trying to break into her home. She was terrified as the man tapped on her windows and tried to open her doors. She yelled at him and he hid under her back stairs.
Deputies from the River substation responded to her residence on Drake Road extension. They contacted the homeowner and soon found a man without pants in the backyard. As the Deputies confronted him he ran and crawled into a drainage pipe.
Other Deputies next spotted him outside the pipe in a culvert. They shouted to him to stop but instead he jumped into the water. He swam across Pocket Canyon Creek near Guerneville River Park, and was soon seen holding on to the steep embankment. They ordered him to climb up, but he jumped back into the creek and swam to the other side. He and was last seen climbing the embankment whereupon he fled into the dark woods.
The Deputies were able find the man hiding in a hollowed-out tree behind some large pieces of wood, near a resort on Neely Road. It was very dark and the man did not respond and comply with the repeated commands to surrender. After several warnings, our K9 Deputy sent his dog, ‘Falko’. Falko contacted the man and dragged him out of the tree.
While attempting to take the man into custody, he violently resisted and fought the Deputies. They were eventually able to secure him in handcuffs and placed him under arrest. One of the Deputies suffered an injury to his hand during the assault.
The man is identified as Jeffrey Aaron Pate, a 34 year old transient from Guerneville. He was transported to a local hospital to evaluate any injuries and was cleared for custody. Pate was booked into jail for attempted burglary of an occupied house, prowling, assaulting a peace officer, violently resisting arrest, being under the influence of a controlled substance, and violation of probation.
Pate’s bail was set at $41,000 and he is scheduled to appear before a judge on January 11, 2016 at 1:30.
Report #160107-025
Prepared by Sergeant Cecile Focha
Media Relations / PIO
