Dennis Womack and his friends were out late last Thursday night hanging out around the Sacramento River near the iconic Sundial Bridge. They were at the north end of the bridge where the spire rises above the Turtle Bay Exploration Park.
According to the Redding Police, a call came in 12 minutes after midnight on May 2 reporting a stabbing. Responding officers found 20-year-old Womack with a stab wound to his right bicep.
Redding’s Sundial Bridge.
Womack and his friends told police that they were there at the bridge when they were approached by a man who appeared to be homeless. They said he became aggressive and threatened them with a large knife he had tethered to his wrist. Womack, who appears to be a body builder, attempted to disarm the assailant, and in the fight got cut with the knife. The witnesses did not report anything that may have spurred the conflict on.
Officers conducted a search of the area with the aid of police K-9 Carr. The dog was able to locate the suspect in the wooded area about 100 yards away from the bridge landing, just beyond the Sacramento River Trail. Carr was able to corner the suspect without harm to either of them, and he was taken into custody by the officers.
The suspect was identified as 33-year-old Michael Destin Ruonavaara. Ruanavaara was on AB109 Parole (post release supervision), and records show that he had been arrested in 2011 on charges of threats of violence and other offenses. He had also been picked up in December on charges of exhibiting a deadly weapon other than a firearm, such as the knife he had in this incident. He was booked at the Shasta County Jail on charges of assault with a deadly weapon.
K9 Carr looks ready for action in this photo from the Redding PD K9 webpage.
A comment posted by Nadine Foley, who identifies herself as Ruonavaara’s aunt on the KRCTV website, says that his problems stem from when he grew up and got into drugs. She wrote in response to someone claiming to be his neighbor, who said he has had problems his whole life, and lost custody of his two kids. Ruonavaara’s own Facebook timeline makes note of his efforts in rehab, getting custody of his kids, and his sometime status as a homeless person. He was also quite proud of his extensive tattoos.
Read more:
KRCR News: AB-109 parolee arrested for Sundial Bridge stabbing
