Public Works Employee Clearing Brush Finds Gun Possibly Used In Petaluma Shooting

A Petaluma public works employee on Friday afternoon found what is believed to be the gun used in a shooting north of Petaluma earlier in the day, a Sonoma County sheriff’s sergeant said.

The worker found the gun while clearing thick and overgrown blackberry brambles and vegetation near a bridge beside the roadway north of South McDowell Boulevard, Sgt. Cecile Focha said. The sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team joined sheriff’s detectives who were searching the area where the gun was likely disposed, Focha said.

[Previous: Pair Behind Bars After Reported Shooting This Morning Near Petaluma.]

The Petaluma Public Works Department was called to the scene to cut away the underbrush. The gun was booked in the sheriff’s property division as evidence, Focha said.

Woodruff Hilton, 22, of Penngrove, and Daveon Hicks, 20, of Fairfax, were arrested Friday in connection with the shooting in the 5600 block of Old Redwood Highway.

Both men were booked into Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of conspiracy, obstructing an investigation and a violation of probation. Hilton also was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.

Both are scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Sonoma County Superior Court. The sheriff’s office has not disclosed information about the victim or why the shooting occurred. A neighbor reported the shooting around 4 a.m.

The victim was taken to Petaluma Valley Hospital and is expected to survive.

--Bay City News

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