Man Suspected In Several Break-Ins, Attempted Sexual Assault: Santa Rosa PD

SANTA ROSA, CA — A Santa Rosa man is suspected of breaking into several of his neighbors' houses and trying to sexually assault one of his neighbors during one of the burglaries, police said.

The Santa Rosa Police Department was first alerted to the string of crimes at 6:40 a.m. Feb. 1 when a resident on Sendero Lane reported a man broke into her home, came into her bedroom and touched her in a sexual manner.

The woman was able to fight off the suspect, and he ran out of the residence.

Detectives from SRPD’s Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Unit assumed the investigation, and the crime scene was processed for any evidence that would help identify the assailant.

As detectives started investigating the incident, they found out three similar burglaries happened between Jan. 30 and Feb. 2 on Sendero Lane, but only one sexual assault.

"Detectives canvassed the area and worked with property managers and residents to try and locate any additional evidence," Santa Rosa police Lt. Marcus Sprague said. "Over the past two weeks, detectives have worked on this investigation daily and uncovered similar burglaries."

With the assistance of SRPD dispatchers and crime analysts, detectives believe the same suspect, Ezequiel Gomez Francisco, 29, a resident of the 1500 block of Sendero Lane, is responsible for 12 or more residential burglaries on Sendero Lane between December and February, Sprague said.

In one of the incidents, Francisco is believed to have broken into a home into 1700 block of Sendero Lane in the early morning hours and went into the residents' bedroom.

"The residents woke up and saw an unknown male in their bedroom," Sprague said. "The suspect then grabbed personal belongings of the victims and ran from the residence."

On Tuesday, detectives went to Sendero Lane to interview residents and focused on a home in the 1500 block of Sendero Lane.

When detectives attempted to contact the male resident, later identified Francisco, he jumped out a second-story window but they caught him as he tried to escape through his back yard, Sprague said.

Francisco was placed under arrest, and detectives obtained a search warrant for his residence where they found more evidence of the break-ins, Sprague said.

Francisco was booked into Sonoma County jail on suspicion of four counts of felony residential burglary and one count of felony assault with the intent to sexually assault during a residential burglary.

His bail was set at $1.15 million and he was expected to appear in court Thursday afternoon, according to jail records.

"Detectives continue to investigate these cases and anticipate sending additional charges against Gomez Francisco to the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office," Sprague said.

Police asked any residents of Sendero Lane who believe they were a victim of a similar crime to contact Detective Brian Fix at 707-543-3595. Anyone with information that would help detectives with the case can send information through SRPD's tip line: www.srcity.org/CrimeTips.