Full Notification

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release Saturday September 28, 2019
Issued By: Lt. Ed Crosby, Petaluma PD, 707.778.4325

Incident: Arrest for Restraining Order Violation, Attempting to Dissuade a Crime Victim, Obstruct/Delay Resist Officers Performing Their Duties, Prowling Warrant

Crime: 273.6(a) PC, 136.1(a)(2) PC, 148(a)(1) PC, 647(h) PC

Suspect: Ryan Kenneth Watt, 29 years old, Petaluma transient

Report Number: PPD 19-4102

Incident Date: Saturday September 28, 2019
Incident Time: Approximately 0855 hours (8:55 am)
Location: 400 block of Stony Point Road, Petaluma

Incident Summary:
On the evening of September 27, 2019 at approximately 8:59 p.m., Ryan Watt was reported to have violated a restraining order that protects a former girlfriend from being contacted by him. The victim reported Watt texted and called her in violation of the protective order, asking her whether she would drop other pending cases against him.

Officers from the Petaluma Police Department subsequently searched for Watt (a transient) at area homeless encampments and located him in one on the northeast side of the city. However, Watt managed to evade capture.

On the next morning (September 28, 2019) at approximately 8:55 a.m., Petaluma Police Department officers conducted foot patrol of the same homeless encampments in a renewed effort to find Watt. Watt was spotted, and he initially evaded capture by running west across the 101 freeway and into the corn maze at the Petaluma Pumpkin Patch on Stony Point Road. A perimeter was established around the corn maze (which was not yet open to the public) by Petaluma Police Department patrol officers, supplemented by California Highway Patrol motor officers and a circling CHP fixed-wing aircraft.

At 10:58 a.m., Watt was located hiding on the Petaluma Pumpkin Patch property and arrested without incident.

Watt has been the subject of an on-going stalking investigation against the same victim, documented in five previous cases over the course of September 2019. Watt was arrested in three of those prior cases. Watt’s behavior toward the victim has included showing up at her son’s school athletic practices uninvited, showing up at (and inside) her home uninvited, hacking her social media accounts, and texting her while she meets with friends to let her know he is monitoring her whereabouts. In one of the previous cases evidence suggested he had had a key made to her home.

On September 21, 2019, Watt was arrested for prowling in the backyard of a residence on the 800 block of “F” Street. His phone was seized as evidence. Officers noticed the phone was receiving GPS tracker alerts. Officers searched the victim’s car on September 22, 2019 and found a GPS tracking device attached to the underside of the vehicle.

A charge of stalking against Watt (646.9 PC) is currently being reviewed by the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office.

Regarding the charges of September 28, 2019 Watt has been booked at Sonoma County Jail with a bail of $250,000.