LAKE COUNTY — One of the men who led authorities on a daylong search in Hidden Valley Lake following a robbery and assault on November 13 was sentenced Tuesday to 16 years in prison.Graton resident Malcolm Safa Brown, 41, pleaded guilty on April 20 to first-degree burglary and assault with a firearm as an aider and abettor, according to a press release from the Lake County District Attorney”s Office. Brown also admitted serving a prison term for a prior “strike,” a 1998 conviction of first-degree burglary.
Brown and Santa Rosa resident Charles William Burk, 30, allegedly broke into the Noble Ranch Road home of Burk”s adopted parents on the morning of Nov. 13. According to the release, Brown and Burk entered while Burke”s aunt, uncle and cousin were sleeping, and Brown began hitting a 22-year-old male in the head with a wooden stool while Burk allegedly tried to shoot his uncle with a .22-caliber rifle. The men left in a vehicle.
Brown, the driver, allegedly rammed a sheriff”s patrol vehicle before driving through a private gate and crashing into a tree.
The two allegedly split up to evade officers. They were found after an 11-hour ground and helicopter search of the Hidden Valley Lake subdivision and surrounding area.
Charges are still pending against Burk.
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