Healdsburg’s downtown on Monday was the location of a crime scene investigation, upon the discovery of what police called “an unresponsive person” in a business parking lot half a block from the Plaza.
Although the investigation continues and no identification of the deceased has been made by press time, there are indications that previous acts of assault may have factored into the death.
Healdsburg Police issued a NIXLE alert at 11:12am asking people to “avoid” the area of 20 Matheson St., the location of a small parking lot for the Wurst Restaurant and the Williamson Wines tasting room. The initial alert said, “There is no current threat to the public,” though police and first responder vehicles remained on the scene for several hours. The NIXLE alert announcing that police activity had concluded was distributed five hours later, at 4:10pm.
A later release from the department distributed on Facebook and other social media channels referred to the 10:21am receipt of a report of “an unresponsive person in the 20 block of Matheson Street.”
Police Chief Matt Jenkins, who arrived at the scene of the incident with the police response, later said it was unclear if the unresponsive person was deceased when police arrived. “The officers started performing lifesaving measures, followed by medical personnel arriving. They worked on the decedent for quite some time before he was declared deceased” at the scene, said Jenkins.
Several police cars blocked the driveway while the investigation and lifesaving measures were underway, and yellow Caution tape surrounded the entry.
The body was removed to the coroner’s office, and an autopsy is scheduled to be performed on Thursday. There was no confirmation of the identity of the deceased at the scene, because no personal identification was found.
However, the information released by the department said they had “received reports of a male subject who had assaulted employees of a downtown business” prior to the call. Those reports said that the “same subject was also reported to have threatened another individual with a hammer.”
The social media release continued, “Based on the descriptions provided, investigators believe that the decedent was involved in these incidents.”
The reports of the previous incidents included descriptions of clothing worn by the assailant, clothing which matched that of the body found at the scene, Jenkins said.
The police chief confirmed that a hammer was found near the site, and that “there were indications of an assault that occurred,” though he would not elaborate pending results of the autopsy.
“There are indications that something occurred,” Jenkins said, as well as “some indications that there were injuries.” There was no evidence of blood on the hammer, said the police chief.
At the scene the following day, a crime scene clean-up team from Bio-One of Vallejo was scouring the pavement along the driveway outside Williamson Wines to remove traces of blood. An apparent blood trail looped for 10 feet or so to a more concentrated area, where the victim evidently was found.
“We’re still piecing together the events that transpired leading up to it,” according to Jenkins. “We believe we know all of what happened, but I’m hesitant to comment on any nature of the injuries until we do an autopsy and have a full understanding of what the injuries are.”
Several subjects were thought to have encounters with the deceased, and investigators are speaking with them. “So far, these individuals have been cooperative with investigators,” said Jenkins. The other subjects also reported minor injuries, though these were limited to complaints of pain, he added.
Continued the chief, “We haven’t labeled anybody as a suspect. We’re still piecing together the events that transpired and why they transpired. Before we can make any determination there, we do believe we know all of the people who were involved in the incident.”
Jenkins anticipated a fuller report, including autopsy findings and the identity of the deceased, would be released Thursday, July 6.
Anyone who has information about the incident should call Healdsburg Police Dispatch at 707-431-3377 and reference case number 23-874. Tips can also be sent to cr*******@he********.gov .
