A man is in jail on Monday night after allegedly lighting an explosive device under a deputy’s car in a Safeway parking lot in Guerneville.

Deputies say 22-year-old Tristan Proto from Santa Rosa took methamphetamine the morning of the alleged explosion.

Deputies say Proto had an M-80 type of firework with him and then threw it under a patrol car at around noon on Friday. An off-duty officer caught, tackled, and arrested the suspect.

A Safeway employee suffered minor injuries during the incident.

Proto faces charges that include using an explosive device with intent to injure.

Here is the full statement from deputies:

This is a follow up to the explosion incident that occurred at the Guerneville Safeway last Friday August 3rd. Shortly before noon that day a deputy was in the Safeway when a large explosion sounded. The deputy ran to the parking lot and saw a suspect running northbound through the parking lot being chased by an off duty law enforcement officer, later determined to be from Vallejo PD.
 
The officer tackled the suspect and, with the assistance of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Deputy, they were able to detain the suspect. Sheriff’s Detectives were brought in to complete an investigation. Arrested was Tristan Proto, 22 of Santa Rosa. It was determined that he had been staying with his 22-year-old friend, Alexandra Bodrov in Forestville for a few days and they both had ingested methamphetamine earlier in the morning.
 
They were visiting downtown Guerneville and Proto had what he described as a M-80 type firework with him. Proto and Bodrov got into a verbal dispute and they had separated briefly. Proto decided to light the firework and throw it under the vacant patrol car because he doesn’t like the Sheriff’s Office. Detectives served search warrants on Proto’s home and vehicle and found no other explosives. Detectives also don’t believe at this time that Proto was the suspect who left a pipe bomb under the Monte Rio Bridge on July 7th.
 
The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad also investigated the incident and, because the device exploded, they can’t determine exactly what it was other than to say it was a pyrotechnic explosive device which is illegal to possess and illegal to detonate.
 
Proto was arrested for using an explosive with intent to injure and violation of his probation terms. He is on three counts of misdemeanor probation for drugs and resisting arrest charges. He was booked into the Sonoma County Jail and is being held on $78,000 bail.
 
Bodrov was arrested for being under the influence of narcotics and was booked into the Sonoma County Jail. She has since been released after posting $1,000 bail.

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