Crime & Safety

Santa Rosa Man Caught Masturbating Onto Vehicle Door Handles: Police

Officers who took the suspect into custody discovered he was on pre-trial release for four pending criminal cases, police said.

Officers who took Salvador Arroyo Avina, 54, into custody discovered he was on pre-trial release for four pending criminal cases, including lewd acts in public, police said.
Officers who took Salvador Arroyo Avina, 54, into custody discovered he was on pre-trial release for four pending criminal cases, including lewd acts in public, police said. (Renee Schiavone/Patch)

SANTA ROSA, CA — A man was taken into custody Saturday after a Santa Rosa resident reported him masturbating onto the door handles of vehicles outside a home and trying to enter the residence.

The suspect, identified as 54-year-old Salvador Arroyo Avina, was observed on a home security camera about 3 p.m. "manually stimulating himself in the resident's carport area and intentionally contaminating vehicle door handles with bodily fluids," police said.

When the resident spoke to the man through the security camera, he briefly left the area in the 900 block of Sonoma Avenue, but returned and attempted to manipulate the handle of a door to the home, police said.

Find out what's happening in Rohnert Park-Cotatifor free with the latest updates from Patch.

Officers who took Avina into custody discovered he was on pre-trial release for four pending criminal cases, including lewd acts in public, police said.

Police said Avina also had personal identifying information for more than 10 people and possessed narcotics.

Find out what's happening in Rohnert Park-Cotatifor free with the latest updates from Patch.

A Sonoma County Superior Court judge set Avina's bail at $400,000, police said.

Anyone with information or video footage from the area is asked to contact the Santa Rosa Police Department at (707) 543 3600.


Copyright © 2026 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.