Petaluma Man Arrested for Living in Home Illegally

A 32-year-old Petaluma man was arrested after he was found staying at a home declared unfit for living, in the 1900 block of Alpine Court off Sonoma Mountain Road Friday night.

According to police, dispatchers received a call around 8:45pm Friday from Mischa Aaron Bakaleinikoff saying that he was living in a "red tagged" home, the same home he had been arrested twice for occupying illegally. In fact, Bakaleinikoff had just been released from county jail for occupying the residence.

Police say the suspect initiated contact by calling 9-1-1 himself and declaring that he was illegally staying in the home, was unwilling to leave and had a knife. Petaluma officers, including K9 Officer Corie Joerger and her police dog “Tango”, arrived at the house to evict Bakaleinikoff.

Bakaleinikoff did not acknowledge any warnings given to him, and refused to surrender himself as instructed. Officer Joerger used Tango to locate and apprehend Bakaleinikoff.

The suspect was taken to Petaluma Valley Hospital for medical clearance before being booked at Sonoma County Jail. He was charged with resisting arrest, violating probation and being in violation of Petaluma minicipal code.

Editor's note: We wanted to show you a photo of Bakaleinikoff, but the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office has refused to distribute arrest photos, citing that it's their discretion to do so. While this is true, a majority of sheriff departments throughout the state make booking photos available to the public, and  by that extention the press, because they believe the benefit of doing so outweighs keeping this information private. What do you think? Should the press in Sonoma County have access to arrest photos, keeping in mind that we would use them in instances where they would enhance a story and not to shame every person who has received a DUI, for example.