Kidnapping Victim Forced At Knifepoint To Drive, Calls 911: SRPD

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — A homeless man is accused of stabbing a convenience store customer and kidnapping a woman at knifepoint in an incident that unfolded Wednesday night at a Santa Rosa 7-Eleven and later, in a gas station parking lot some 13 miles away in Windsor.

Officers were initially dispatched at 8:48 p.m. Wednesday to an unknown problem at a 7-Eleven in the 2700 block of Yulupa Avenue, SRPD Sgt. Christopher Mahurin said.

A male stabbing victim told officers he was inside the store when the suspect walked in and started arguing with the store clerk.

When the clerk asked the suspect to leave, the suspect grabbed some beer and walked out of the store without paying, Mahurin said.

The suspect, later identified as 26-year-old transient Dennis William Marrow, walked back into the store and again started arguing with the clerk, at which time the victim said he intervened and told Marrow to leave.

Marrow tried to punch the victim but the victim pulled Marrow onto the ground.

Marrow went outside then came back in with a knife, approached the victim and stabbed him one time in the back of his upper shoulder, Mahurin said.

Marrow was seen leaving the store in a car, and the victim, whose injury was not life-threatening, drove himself to a hospital.

About an hour later, shortly after 10 p.m., officers learned the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office was in contact with Marrow some 13 miles away in a gas station parking lot in the 9000 block of Old Redwood Highway in Windsor.

Marrow was the passenger in a car driven by a female victim, Mahurin said.

The woman told officers Marrow forced her at knifepoint to drive him from the scene of the stabbing.

"As she was driving, she was able to use her cellphone to call 911; although, she was unable to speak when she called," Mahurin said.

Her phone call was routed to the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety, which worked with the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office to find the car.

The woman was not injured, Mahurin said.

As for Marrow, he was booked into Sonoma County jail on suspicion of felony assault with a deadly weapon and felony kidnapping. His bail was set at $100,000 and he remained in custody Thursday night.

"We would like to thank our other local law enforcement partners for their help during this incident," Mahurin said.