On Tuesday, April 18, at about 3:40pm, Healdsburg Police responded to a call regarding suspicious individuals wearing hoodies with blue bandanas covering their faces on the 400 block of Grove Street.
Healdsburg Police had responded to an incident the day before at a nearby apartment complex that occurred at approximately the same time of day and involved subjects matching the same general description.
In the incident on Monday, April 17, officers had responded to a call of gunshots and through investigation determined that at least two shots were fired from a handgun at another individual. No one was struck during that incident, but evidence of the crime was located at the scene—including bullet casings.
Acting on a telephone tip that two young men were in the area the following afternoon, officers arrived and spotted two suspicious individuals and attempted to contact them. The two individuals immediately ran away, jumping fences and running through yards in an attempt to evade officers.
After pursuing the individuals on foot, officers caught both individuals in the 700 block of Healdsburg Avenue. During a search of one of the individuals’ backpacks, officers located a loaded firearm.
The suspects, 15- and 16-year-old juveniles from Healdsburg, were arrested on charges including possession of a loaded firearm in public, possession of a concealed firearm in public, possession of stolen property and resisting arrest.
The 16-year-old was additionally charged with violation of the terms of his juvenile probation based on a prior firearms-related charge. Both juveniles were booked at Juvenile Hall.
An investigation is ongoing to determine if the incidents are related. Said Chief Matt Jenkins on May 8, “The investigation is still ongoing as we are awaiting forensic analysis of ammunition and the recovered firearm.”
