Full Notification

Deputies arrested three suspects for residential burglary, elder abuse yesterday. At about 3:15 PM Sonoma County Sheriff Deputies from the Sonoma Valley Substation responded to a call in the 19300 block of Hwy 12 in Boyes Hot Springs. A caller, who was an employee of a nearby business, saw men running out of a home carrying a safe and property belonging to a 96-year-old resident. The caller gave dispatch a good description of the vehicle. Soon after, deputies from the Sonoma Police Department located the car in the area of Broadway and W. Napa in Sonoma and made a traffic stop.

Deputies detained three suspects who were identified as Tarzan Miller, a 34-year-old man from Richmond, Tommy Mitchell, a 27-year-old man from Richmond and Richard Mitchell, a 48 year-old man from North Highlands. In the vehicle, the deputies found a small safe and a pillow case loaded with jewelry.

Deputies went back to the victim’s home and contacted the 96-year-old victim who didn’t realized she had been burglarized. When shown the safe and the pillow case with jewelry, she said that was from her home. She took deputies into her home and she noticed that her safe was missing along with her jewelry and a pillowcase off one of her pillows.

She told deputies she had been watching tv in her home when she heard a knock at the front door. When she answered it, a man was there and wanted to talk to her about tree trimming in the backyard of her home. She went to the backyard and talked about her trees for about 15 minutes and he then left.

She didn’t realize that while they were discussing the tree trimming, the two other men went through her home stealing her property. We are very thankful to the alert caller who noticed the suspicious behavior and called 911 to report the crime.

All three suspects were ultimately booked into the Sonoma County Jail on charges of burglary, possession of stolen property, elder abuse and conspiracy. They are being held on $100,000 bail.

Prepared by: Sgt. Spencer Crum
CR 17-0001033
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