SONOMA COUNTY ? The Sonoma County Sheriff”s Department has released a composite sketch in relation to the recently reported, suspicious behavior in the Calistoga Road / Petrified Forest Road areas.
The sketch is the likeness of the suspect who contacted a woman motorist on Jan. 6, after flashing his headlights and getting the woman to pull over late at night.
The suspect walked up to her car and claimed there had been a motorcycle accident on the roadway and asked her to call for help. He then covered part of his face with his sweater and opened the woman”s car door. The woman shut her door and fled the area. This incident was reported to the Sheriff”s Department on Feb. 19.
While no assault took place during this occasion, the tactics used by this suspect were akin to other recent nighttime incidents where lone female motorists on rural county roadways were tailgated and high-beamed, with attempts made to pass them or drive alongside them, trying to get the women to pull over.
Similar ploys were used in two nighttime Bennett Valley Road cases in Nov. and Dec. last year.
In one of the cases, a woman was sexually assaulted after pulling to the side of the road and stopping for a persistent and determined, dark-haired male driver behind her, who also claimed that a motorcycle accident occurred.
In another case, the male, after getting a lone woman motorist to stop, approached her car wearing a ski mask over his face. She fled the area before he made contact with her.
The Sheriff”s Department is investigating the links between the Calistoga Road and Bennett Valley Road cases. No new incidents have been reported since February.
The suspect sketch from the Calistoga Road incident is believed to be that of a white male adult, approximately 30 to 40 years old.
He is described as having a “stocky” build, dark hair and a “pasty” complexion. On this occasion, the suspect was driving a dark colored SUV.
Anyone with relevant information regarding this case, please contact Detective Joel Pedersen of the Sonoma County Sheriff”s Department”s Domestic Violence / Sexual Assault Unit at 565-7600.
