Sheriff: Petaluma man arrested after stealing father’s pistol, fleeing

A Petaluma man was arrested late Thursday night after allegedly stealing his father’s loaded revolver from a west Petaluma home the two shared and then fleeing the area, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.

Elliot Malone, a 26-year-old Petaluma resident, went to the home on the 200 block of Gossage Avenue and threatened his father before taking the pistol around 5 p.m., according to the department’s Community Engagement Liaison Misti Harris.

He fled the area in a camper van.

Malone, a wanted felon with prior drug and violence offenses, said he took the gun for protection because he knew he was being sought by law enforcement agencies, she said.

Deputies and air patrol were unable to immediately locate Malone, but the agency was tipped off to his whereabouts when a caller reported seeing a suspicious camper van in the area of Magnolia Avenue around 9:20 p.m.

Deputies tracked down the vehicle and arrested Malone around 11:30 p.m. after he ran from an area home and tried to hide under a nearby tree, Harris said. The pistol was located later.

Malone was booked into Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of felonies including burglary and possessing a firearm with a prior violent offense, according to the department’s arrest logs.

No injuries were reported.