Petaluma man accused of beating juvenile with wooden stick in unprovoked attack
A Petaluma man has been arrested after allegedly physically assaulting a juvenile victim in an unprovoked attack, police say.
Early on the afternoon of August 10, officers responded to a report of a fight, in which one person had allegedly tried to kill the other, at the 7-Eleven on Petaluma Boulevard South. At the scene, officers both the victim and the suspect — the latter identified as 44-year-old Cruz De Leon — sweating and out of breath.
The victim told officers that De Leon had ambushed him and began beating him with a wooden stick for no apparent reason. He was treated and released at the scene.
De Leon was ultimately arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and child abuse.
Police say this was the second reported incident involving De Leon in the past month. On August 7, he had reportedly run into traffic with a golf club while intoxicated on a controlled substance.
