Homeless Man Found Dead In Petaluma Parking Lot

PETALUMA, CA – A white man in his 20s, known as a transient in the Petaluma area, was found deceased Tuesday evening in parking lot at a local strip mall, police said.

Petaluma Police Department officers and a detective were called to investigate a possible dead body at approximately 7 p.m. to 440 East Washington St., where the male was discovered on the ground between an enclosed Dumpster and a fence bordering the south side of the parking lot of a strip mall shared by a coffee house, cellular service provider and a mattress store, the agency said.

Police said the decedent is a locally known homeless man with a history of health and substance abuse problems. Paraphernalia and a controlled substance believed to be methamphetamine were found with the body, officer said.

No evidence at the scene suggested foul play or suicide, police said, adding that an autopsy is pending to determine cause of death.

The man’s name is being withheld pending next of kin notification by the Sonoma County Coroner’s Office.

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