Petaluma man arrested outside Casa Grande homecoming dance

A 45-year-old Petaluma man was arrested on a parole violation after reportedly talking to teenagers outside the Casa Grande High School homecoming dance and trying to give them his jacket to wear, police said.

Travis Shoemake, who has no children attending the school, was outside the Saturday night dance on Oct. 8 when he placed two calls to Petaluma police to ask about a perceived lack of police presence at the dance. Shoemake told them he was concerned for the safety of the students, especially after a recent bomb threat, police said.

Realizing that he was on the campus, and that there was an active warrant out for his arrest for violating parole, police dispatched officers to the school to arrest him. Travis Shoemake was on parole for an assault made under his previous name, Darren Shoemake.

While the officers were en route, the department received a call from a student stating that there was a man at the school, identifying himself as Travis, who was circling the lot trying to talk to students and offering them his jacket if they were cold.

Shoemake approached the officers when they arrived and was immediately handcuffed. He confirmed that he had legally changed his name from Darren to Travis, and told the officers he “just wanted to meet people in the community” after his recent release from prison. He was taken to Sonoma County Jail.

Contact the reporter Rebecca Wolff at rebecca.wolff@sonomanews.com.