Two juvenile males sustained injuries in possibly related stabbing incidents on Sunday night, April 21, near the Carson Warner Skate Park in Healdsburg.
The first victim, a 16-year-old boy, called for help at 10:22pm and was located on Foss Creek Pathway, according to the preliminary police report. The victim suffered multiple stab wounds to his back, and after on-scene first aid was taken to Healdsburg District Hospital.
A second victim, 17 years of age, was later discovered to have been admitted to a local hospital for treatment of stab injuries, according to an updated social media post from the Healdsburg Police. Both victims are refusing to cooperate with police in their investigation.
“Both victims sustained serious injuries, but are expected to recover,” said the department’s social media post. “Police continue to investigate what might have led to the stabbing and who else may have been involved in the altercation. The victim’s lack of cooperation has hindered the investigation.”
Lt. Luis Rodriguez subsequently said, “We do believe that this incident stemmed from a physical altercation. We are looking into all possibilities for a motive.”
Sexual Assault
Police logs published on April 23 indicated a sexual assault that was first reported on April 17 took place in the same area. According to the victim, the assailant had a firearm at the time of the assault.
The victim was able to identify her assailant, which led to the arrest of a 43-year-old male on April 18 at a homeless encampment on the west side of Hwy 101. An April 23 check of the county jail inmates indicates the suspect has since been released.
Lights, Camera
The incidents took place on the pathway that bisects Healdsburg, from the Russian River to the Community Center, south to north.
The lighting system on the foot and cycle path has been inoperable recently due to the theft of copper wiring, including the area close to the scene of this incident.
“This area of the bike path had previously suffered copper wire thefts from the street lights,” confirmed Lt. Luis Rodriguez of Healdsburg Police. Approximately $10,000 in damages were reported resulting from two incidents of copper wire theft in the past year, according to Police Chief Matt Jenkins.
Jaime Licea, the city’s Parks & Open Space Superintendent, said he believed the incidents occurred at the southern edge of an area plagued by wire theft. “The lights in this area are not functioning due to theft of the copper wire in the lighting system. We are actively working with electrical contractors to come up with options that make it more difficult for a similar theft of the copper wire to occur in the future,” he told the Tribune.
At a recent public meeting about the use of military equipment and public safety cameras, held at the Police Station on April 19, installing cameras on Foss Creek Pathway, in addition to several locations near accident-prone intersections, was discussed.
Jenkins and Rodriguez speculated that installing such a public safety camera on Foss Creek Pathway might help the investigation of the copper thefts, especially if they were installed at the site of the thefts.
“If someone stole copper, we’d have their picture,” Rodriguez said.
The camera system is scheduled to be part of city budget discussion at the May 13 City Council meeting.
By all means use camera’s to monitor public areas. It’s a lot cheaper than military gear.