Rohnert Park Man Sentenced In 11 North Bay Robberies

SONOMA COUNTY, CA — A Rohnert Park man was sentenced Wednesday to 33 years and eight months in California state prison for 11 separate robberies in which authorities say he targeted young females working at retail establishments in Rohnert Park and neighboring cities in Sonoma and Marin counties.

"This defendant left a wake of victims in his path, many of them young and particularly vulnerable due to being confronted while working alone in retail settings," Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch said. "The lengthy prison sentence is appropriate and hopefully provides the victims, and the community, with some measure of relief that the defendant will be in prison for many years to come."

A Sonoma County jury found William Drew Hodges, 54, guilty in December of the series of robberies carried out from Windsor to San Rafael.

At the time of his arrest in October 2017, police said Hodges admitted committing seven robberies with a BB gun in the two counties.

In a robbery Aug. 23, 2017, Hodges walked into a Baskin-Robbins ice cream shop in Santa Rosa, pointed his replica semi-automatic handgun at a young female clerk who was alone in the business at the time, and demanded cash from her.

That same morning, Hodges walked into a clothing boutique in Windsor, pointed the replica handgun at two girls and demanded cash, prosecutors said.

Over the following five weeks, Hodges robbed at total of 11 victims in the same manner. Some of the robberies included: a nail salon in Rohnert Park, a Sally Beauty supply in Santa Rosa, Yogurt World in Petaluma, Palm Beach Tan shop in Petaluma and See's Candies in Petaluma.

In each incident, the victim was young; some were still in high school, prosecutors said.

After each robbery, Hodges told the victim, "Don’t call the police. There’s someone outside watching you."

After one incident the victims were so traumatized they crawled on their hands and knees across the floor and locked themselves in the nearest room to avoid being seen by Hodges. Others were so shaken that even when a uniformed police officer arrived to help them they were reluctant to go outside to speak with them.

At the conclusion of a seven-week trial in December that involved emotional testimony from the victims, a jury convicted Hodges of all charges filed against him.

In addition to the 11 current charges, Hodges had three prior felony robbery convictions, and was on state parole after being released from prison for a 2009 felony assault with deadly weapon conviction.

The case was investigated by Santa Rosa Police Department Detective Hector DeLeon and Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety Detective Jon Kemp. The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, Cotati Police Department, Petaluma Police Department and the San Rafael Police Department assisted with the investigation.

Deputy District Attorney Jamie Kandel prosecuted the case on behalf of the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office. He was assisted by District Attorney Investigator Lyn McCarthy and Victim Advocate Elizabeth Garcia.