A Petaluma man was arrested after beating another man with a wooden stick in Petaluma's Putnam Plaza on Monday, police said.
At about 12:30 p.m., police received 911 calls reporting a fight involving two men in Putnam Plaza, located on Petaluma Boulevard North near East Washington Street, police said.
Witnesses said a man had struck another man multiple times with what appeared to be a large wooden walking stick, police said.
Witnesses told police the suspect, later identified as 27-year-old Petaluma resident Sheldon Leon Thomas Berkey, struck the other man, a 42-year-old Petaluma resident, several times in his upper torso area with the wooden stick.
The victim then fell to the ground where his head struck the concrete, according to police. Officers located the victim lying unconscious on the ground in Putnam Plaza a short time later, police said.
Witnesses said Berkey fled the area on foot following the assault and was seen headed towards the Petaluma River, about a block away, police said. Officers viewed video surveillance footage of the assault and positively identified Berkey as the suspect.
Officers established a perimeter and searched the downtown area. Berkey was soon found hiding behind bushes a couple blocks away from Putnam Plaza.
Berkey was arrested without incident and found to be on probation in Sonoma County for assault, police said.
The victim was transported to a hospital for treatment of injuries not considered life-threatening.
The suspect was transported to Sonoma County Jail with bail set at $30,000, police said.
The motive for the assault remains under investigation.
--Bay City News
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