Petaluma assault suspect arrested following hourslong police search

A 38-year-old Petaluma man suspected of assaulting his girlfriend was taken into custody early Monday following an hourslong police search.

Sonoma County sheriff’s deputies and Petaluma police officers responded to the 900 block of Liberty Road in Petaluma just before 9 p.m. Sunday after dispatchers got a call from a woman who reported her boyfriend had assaulted her.

The woman also reported the boyfriend had a gun, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post. Dispatchers reported hearing gunshots in the background during the call.

Responding crews immediately located the woman and family members, taking them to safety.

A Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office helicopter crew, SWAT team, drone team, and a K-9 then began searching for the boyfriend. They found two guns while searching the Liberty Road property.

“We typically do not release information about domestic violence incidents,” the Sheriff’s Office social media post said. “However, the heavy police presence in the rural neighborhood generated a significant amount of public concern and interest.”

At about 1:45 a.m., deputies found Isidoro Amador Maldonado on the property and arrested him without incident.

Maldonado faces eight felony charges and one misdemeanor charge. He is being held on $2.5 million bail.

The Sheriff’s Office advised anyone who has experienced domestic violence to call the 24/7 domestic violence crisis hotline at 707-546-1234, run by the Sonoma County YWCA, or the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office at 707-565-2121.

Amelia Parreira is a staff writer for the Argus-Courier. She can be reached at amelia.parreira@arguscourier.com or 707-521-5208.