People shooting from a car in Sonoma county. Any advise?

[Dubious_Beans]

Got any Sonoma county sheriffs here?
I could use a little advise. From anyone is appreciated but the problem is in Sonoma county.

I live on a rather rural road in NW Sonoma county and we seem to be having a problem lately with someone that drives along the road at night shooting from a car. They often stop at a certain spot on the road and apparently shoot down the valley (not cool, there's a few houses down there) and last night I heard a round ricochet off of something across the road from me and about 1/2 mile from where they were parked. Then I watched their headlights come down the road and they fired a few random rounds as they came down the hill and then 5 in a row when they were almost in front of my house.

I called the sheriff last night and they came out but the shooter(s) were gone by then.
This morning I went for a walk and picked up a bunch of 40S&W casings that were in the road in 2 locations along with a couple of broken beer bottles.

This has been happening every week or 2, maybe 5-6 times so far this year and usually around 2-4AM on a weekday (which is very annoying way to wake up) but last nights episode was early, around 20:30. I usually hear from 10 - 50 rounds fired from various locations as they drive down the road. Sometimes they seem to turn around before they get to my house and go back the direction they came from and sometimes they continue down the hill and presumably go out that way.

Normally I don't mind the sound of a little gunfire. It makes me smile when I hear my neighbors out practicing. But these ain't my neighbors, and random shooting in the dark from a moving vehicle is both worrisome and annoying. I'd really like it to stop.

I haven't been able to visually identify the car... it's just headlights coming down the road in the dark.
I'm going to try and arrange a camera to try and record license plates on cars that go by at night but I don't have high hopes for having enough resolution for plates at night and I think sometimes they turn around and don't go past my driveway.

I've got a baggie full of brass from their gun but I don't imagine that it's any use to LE. Is it?

Other than calling the sheriff every time it happens and trying to get some visual ID on the car does anyone have any suggestions on how to help catch these ***holes?

[RickD427]

Two quick questions:

1) Is the road a public road, or private?

2) Is this in a part of the county where firearm discharge is not prohibited?

Please check out Penal Code section 374c. It makes the discharge of a firearm from any public roadway a misdemeanor (regardless of the roadway being in an otherwise shooting permitted area).

If the road is private, and in you're in a shooting permitted area, there isn't much for the Sheriff's Office to do.

Otherwise the offense of shooting is likely a misdemeanor (unless you can show the elements of Penal Code section 246.3, in which case it would be a felony).

The misdemeanor violation would require that the offense be committed in the deputy's presence in order for him/her to make a warrantless arrest. A lot of LEOs would suggest that if they didn't witness the violation they can't do anything. That's simply not true, they have the option to seek a criminal complaint based on investigative findings and can then obtain an arrest warrant, or summon the miscreant to court with an arraignment letter. The problem is that many agencies are unwilling to invest that amount effort into the matter. It sounds like you do have access to investigative leads that would make an investigation productive. I'd recommend contacting your Sheriff's Office and determining their level of interest.

[Dubious_Beans]

Thanks RickD,

The road is a public, county maintained road and it is in an area where shooting is not prohibited.

Next time I'm in town I'll stop by the local sheriff office and chat with them about it, but I figured I'd check here as well and see if anyone had any thoughts.

Thanks!

Two quick questions:

1) Is the road a public road, or private?

2) Is this in a part of the county where firearm discharge is not prohibited?

Please check out Penal Code section 374c. It makes the discharge of a firearm from any public roadway a misdemeanor (regardless of the roadway being in an otherwise shooting permitted area).

If the road is private, and in you're in a shooting permitted area, there isn't much for the Sheriff's Office to do.

Otherwise the offense of shooting is likely a misdemeanor (unless you can show the elements of Penal Code section 246.3, in which case it would be a felony).

The misdemeanor violation would require that the offense be committed in the deputy's presence in order for him/her to make a warrantless arrest. A lot of LEOs would suggest that if they didn't witness the violation they can't do anything. That's simply not true, they have the option to seek a criminal complaint based on investigative findings and can then obtain an arrest warrant, or summon the miscreant to court with an arraignment letter. The problem is that many agencies are unwilling to invest that amount effort into the matter. It sounds like you do have access to investigative leads that would make an investigation productive. I'd recommend contacting your Sheriff's Office and determining their level of interest.

[4FTTY]

There are some cameras out there that take good pics in the dark and don't cost a ton. Get together with your neighbors and put a couple up. Having a plate number or even a vehicle description is a big help for responding Deputies.

Contact the Deputies working in the area, either through dispatch or go to the Substation, depending on where you are in the county.

[edgerly779]

Get a game cam and get pics.

[jdubs71]

Get a game cam and get pics.

^^^This. Maybe try DFG tell them you think there is someone poaching in the area at night considering how frequent the shootings are taking place. They have more time and availability to set up a sting.

[Dubious_Beans]

Thanks guys.
I'll work on getting a camera installed to try and get a plate number. It may be tough to get a good view of the road without having the camera stolen unless it's got a good long lens on it but I'll see what I can come up with.

[spamsucker]

Just wow. I feel for you OP.

shakes head. WTF? Are people really so self interested and stupid that they'd actually go out and... oh yeah. Nevermind, they totally are.

[CBR_rider]

Another one for game cameras.