Homeless Man Suspected Of Selling Meth At Rohnert Park Encampment

ROHNERT PARK, CA — A man living in a tent in a Rohnert Park homeless encampment was arrested this week on suspicion of selling methamphetamine.

The Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety Community Oriented Problem Solving Team —COPS — served a search warrant at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at a tent in the Roberts Lake encampment in the 5000 block of Roberts Lake Road.

The search warrant was the result of an investigation into drug sales taking place inside the encampment over the last several months, police said.

Officers who served the warrant Wednesday found evidence of drug sales and arrested Manuel Santiago, a 56-year-old unhoused person who has been living in a tent in the encampment, police said.

Santiago was booked into Sonoma County jail on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine for sale and possession of a controlled substance with the intent to sell.

Police were also looking into a report about a sexual assault at the encampment and asked anyone with information about drug sales or the suspected assault to call Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety PSO Trevor Gentry at 707-584-3546 and refer to Case number 22-3847.

In a statement about the arrest, the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety said: "Our department understands our community's concerns about safety issues. The Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety COPS Team is a specialized unit dedicated to addressing a variety of community and safety issues, including narcotics, human trafficking, traffic complaints, and unsheltered populations. The COPS Team dedicates more than half of its time to our unsheltered community, and works consistently alongside social service providers and other entities within Sonoma County to offer wrap-around services to those who are unsheltered, and to ensure that the safety of all community members is a priority."