Man charged assault against police officers
A 30-year-old man has been charged with two counts of assault for allegedly releasing his aggressive dog to charge at police officers outside of a home in East Palo Alto last weekend, prompting them to open fire at the dog, San Mateo County prosecutors said Wednesday, July 26.
Antonio Sotelo-Lozano was arrested after the interaction that started around 8 p.m. Saturday when his mother called 911 after Sotelo-Lozano was allegedly drunk and fell at his home, resulting in bleeding and bruising on his face, according to the county District Attorney’s Office.
When officers responded to the home, Sotelo-Lozano allegedly screamed at them to get off his property and called for his large pit bull named Raider to come from the back of the house. The dog came to the side yard and the two officers warned him not to release the dog, but he opened the side gate to allow the dog to charge at them, prosecutors said.
The officers fired at the dog twice to cause it to retreat. The gunfire did not strike the animal or any people, and Sotelo-Lozano was arrested after a struggle, prosecutors said.
East Palo Alto Police Cmdr. Dave Carson said the dog was impounded after the arrest.
Sotelo-Lozano made his initial appearance in court Tuesday to face the assault charges but did not enter a plea and the county’s Private Defender Program was assigned to represent him, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
He has five prior convictions, including three for robberies, and was on parole at the time of his arrest. He remains in custody on no bail status and is set to return to court next week, prosecutors said.
-Bay City News Service
Two arrested for brandishing a rifle outside Middlefield Road bar
==Two men were arrested in North Fair Oaks in the early morning hours of Sunday, July 23, for allegedly brandishing a rifle and making threats after being thrown out of the Atherton Club San Luis on Middlefield Road.
The two suspects, a 32-year-old man and a 34-year-old man, both from Redwood City, were ejected at 2:40 a.m. from the Atherton Club San Luis, a bar and restaurant on Middlefield Road in the North Fair Oaks neighborhood of unincorporated Menlo Park, according to the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. The two reportedly left but returned later with a rifle.
San Mateo County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene following reports of a fight on the premises. Witnesses gave deputies a description of the car and license plate, and they found the two suspects in the vehicle nearby with a BB gun rifle. The two were taken into custody on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy, threats and brandishing a firearm replica, and are being held on $50,000 bail.
The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office is investigating this case and encourages anyone with information to call the anonymous tip line at 1-800-547-2700.
-Cameron Rebosio
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