Napa Resident Assaulted By Transient He Found Sleeping On His Floor

A 34-year-old Napa transient has been arrested on suspicion of assault after a string of residential burglaries in the vicinity of the Napa Valley Yacht Club.

Police say a man entered his home on Lighthouse Court early Wednesday morning shortly before 5 a.m. to find a stranger sleeping on the floor in an upstairs bedroom.

After confronting the suspect, later identified as Manuel Alvarez, the resident ran to the car to grab his cellphone and call 911.

Police say the resident was subsequently attacked while on the phone with dispatchers.

During the assault, however, the victim was able to relay his location and officers were immediately sent to the scene.

He had visible injuries when officers arrived, and was treated for head trauma at the Queen of the Valley Medical Center emergency room.

The suspect fled, taking the victim’s cellphone, but around 11:30 a.m. Napa police received a call from another resident on South Newport Drive who found a stranger hiding in his unlocked garage.

He was last seen fleeing over a fence, but officers found an individual matching the suspect’s description walking in the immediate area, police said.

Alvarez was positively identified as the man in the garage, and found to be in possession of property stolen from that home, according to police.

During an interview with officers, he reportedly admitted to assaulting the victim on Lighthouse Court as well as the burglary of two residences on South Newport Drive.

Alvarez is also a person of interest in multiple vehicle thefts that occurred between Sunday and Monday evenings in the area of South Jefferson Street, Cabot Way and the Napa Valley Yacht Club, police said.

Alvarez was booked into the Napa County Jail on suspicion of assault with serious bodily injury, robbery, and two counts of residential burglary.

Anyone with information on the thefts is asked to contact Napa police Detective Pete Piersig at (707) 257-9514 or ppiersig@cityofnapa.org.

--Bay City News