Man gets 6 years in state prison for stealing from Sonoma County fire victims

The Santa Rosa man stole from a group home under evacuation during the October fires.|

A 50-year-old Santa Rosa man was sentenced to six years in state prison for the burglary and looting of an evacuated group home during the October fires, Sonoma County District Attorney officials said.

Douglas James Rosado was sentenced Friday after previously pleading no contest to first-degree burglary and felony looting during a state of emergency, declared after massive wildfires forced entire communities to evacuate, officials said.

The investigation began about 4:30 p.m. Oct. 15 when residents of a Rincon Valley group home run by the California Human Development department returned to the property after being evacuated for six days and confronted Rosado outside the house. He had already loaded a shop vacuum into the bed of his pickup and was trying to load a laundry dryer into it also, police said.

Rosado claimed his wife was a former employee of the group home and had asked him to check on the residences during the fires - then he drove away, according to the District Attorney’s Office. Police found the shop vacuum and two televisions while searching his house and storage unit, and arrested him Oct. 16.

District Attorney Ravitch said in a news statement her office is holding accountable people who “took advantage of this community during the fires.

“The crime was one of opportunity carried out against a nonprofit agency forced to evacuate the building. The sentence is entirely appropriate for the crimes committed.”

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