By far the most notable crime story of 2021 were the sexual assault and misconduct allegations levied at former Mayor Dominic Foppoli, prompting two months of defiance before eventual resignation from his position. To read more about the Foppoli scandal, see the Town of Windsor Year in Review article, which covers how the scandal developed.
A search warrant executed at Foppoli’s house is the final item on this list, but read on to hear about the major criminal escapades that made headlines this year in Windsor.
A hit-and-run suspect was arrested at 8:27 a.m. on Jan. 25 after the victim of the collision followed the perpetrator from near Third and Davis Streets in Santa Rosa. The victim called the Santa Rosa Police Department, telling police of his pursuit and that the driver had been driving erratically before the accident.
The suspect refused to pull over, leading SRPD on a pursuit onto Highway 101, first southbound, and all the way to Petaluma Boulevard North in Petaluma, before turning back northbound headed toward Windsor. Deputies from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department were able to stop the vehicle using two sets of spike strips at the Shiloh Road and Central Windsor exits, disabling the suspects front tires. The chase ended in Healdsburg when the suspect, identified at Dexter Blake Jensen, 31, fled his Jeep on foot before being overtaken by deputies.
One man was left seriously injured following a drive-by shooting in west Windsor at around 7:40 p.m. Feb. 6, prompting a manhunt involving the sheriff’s department helicopter Henry-1. The 30-year-old victim was found bleeding from a gunshot wound to the abdomen by a deputy who rendered first aid before transporting him to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries.
The theft of a rare 1954 Morgan Coupe in Sonoma prompted SWAT action and ultimately led to a felony arrest in Windsor. Criminals had broken into an East Sonoma Valley property and detached a trailer holding the car, stored at the residence of a vintage car mechanic. Two suspects were arrested in Petaluma, but a search warrant executed in Windsor led to the arrest of José Flores, where detectives also located stolen guns, ammunition and approximately $16,000 in cash determined to be the proceeds from gun sales.
Concerns over reckless driving, speeding and even sideshow-type activities in Windsor were discussed at the Windsor Town Council meeting March 3. Former Windsor police chief Ruben Martinez presented the complaints of the community to the council, which were part of a broader phenomenon throughout Sonoma County. Martinez told the council that although complaints were up, overall traffic accidents had gone down in Windsor, with 184 accidents in 2017 and 110 accidents in 2020.
On May 14, a Santa Rosa woman was arrested for stealing a purse off a shopping cart at a Windsor retail store. A third customer had seen Yuridia Hernandez take the purse of the cart of an elderly victim. Detectives traced Hernandez to the 3100 block of Cleveland Avenue in Santa Rosa, where detectives found the victim’s stolen items.
A Sonoma County Fire Department (SCFD) pick-up truck was stolen from a station in Windsor before being recovered in Healdsburg following a crash June 3. Healdsburg police received calls of a fire pick-up driving recklessly on Highway 101 before it crashed into a tree on Lytton Springs Road. Local transient 38-year-old Jesse Denver Bacon was found hiding in the bushes near the ramp, where he was apparently overdosing on narcotics. Responders administered Narcan and transported Bacon to Sutter Hospital, where he was cited to appear.
After residents near Michael Hall Park in Windsor reported hearing multiple gunshot wounds, police found two 15-year-old victims suffering non-life-threatening injuries. Police later arrested a suspect seen running from the park — a 15-year-old Windsor resident.Â
On July 14, a Windsor resident was arrested by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office after a lengthy investigation for the sale of drugs and firearms. Miguel Valadex was determined to have approximately 16 pounds of methamphetamine and 20 grams of cocaine when stopped by the Property/Narcotics Investigations Unit while driving on Highway 101 in Petaluma. Detectives also found more methamphetamine, cocaine, drug packaging and a firearm at Valadez’s residence on the 8200 block of Conde Lane in Windsor.
Windsor resident Josimar Ortiz-Ortiz was sentenced to serve 15 years to life in state prison on July 27, following a June 28 conviction for second-degree murder. Ortiz-Ortiz was found to have crossed the double yellow lines on Old Redwood Highway while driving under the influence, killing 60-year-old Jose Beltran in October 2018.
On Aug. 6, following a month-long trial, William Boyle, 52, of Windsor, was found guilty of all charges associated with misdemeanor sexual battery and molestation of a child. Boyle was found to have used a Windsor High School basketball team end-of-season banquet as the setting to repeatedly touch the buttocks of a minor, female victim. During an investigation launched by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, additional victims came forward with claims Boyle’s behavior towards them had been identical to the claims of the first minor victim.
Windsor Police Chief Michael Raasch issued a presentation on use-of-force incidents to the Windsor Town Council, as had been decided following the George Floyd protests in summer of 2020. Raasch reported that in 2020, Windsor police used force in 12 out of 11,204 contacts, including ten control holds, one use of maximum restraints and one use of a taser.
Vandals caused up to $3,300 to a restroom in Keiser Park Oct. 25. Sgt. James Percy of the Windsor Police Department said the door to the men’s room was either broken into or left unlocked, and the perpetrators kicked down partitions between stalls, stole plexiglass mirrors over the sink and damaged the barbecue pit outside overnight. The vandals returned on Nov. 1, however, were unable to gain access to the bathrooms and instead damaged exterior light fixtures. Percy said the vandals were likely local youths, and not members of the town’s transient population.
Disgraced former mayor Dominic Foppoli made headlines one final time in 2021, when state investigators executed a search warrant at his Windsor residence in an ongoing investigation into the sexual assault and misconduct allegations made by at least nine women the previous spring. Detectives apparently confiscated electronics. Foppoli himself was not present, but is believed to be staying overseas in Italy.
On Christmas Day, a Santa Rosa man stabbed a ride-share driver who had taken him from Santa Rosa to Shiloh Ranch Regional Park in Windsor. The driver survived and drove himself to the hospital while the police began searching for suspect Tristan Mathew Hardin, 19. Hardin was picked up by the Golden Gate Bridge Patrol in Marin County after receiving reports he had been walking on the freeway. Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office deputies retrieved Hardin and booked him in jail, where he is being held for attempted murder with bail set at $1 million.
