KRON4

Rohnert Park man arrested in string of North Bay robberies

Vince Cestone

ROHNERT PARK (KRON) — Rohnert Park police have arrested the man they say committed a string of robberies in the past few months.

William Hodges was arrested at his Rohnert Park home on Tuesday.


Police say he committed seven robberies across Sonoma County since August.

Authorities say Hodges was already wanted for skipping parole in a 2010 robbery conviction.

According to police, Hodges admitted to the seven robberies.

He was booked into the Sonoma County Jail without bail.

Other agencies are expected to file cases against Hodges.

Here is the full statement from police on the events:

ROHNERT PARK, CA – On 10/1/2017 at 2:09pm the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety received a 9-1-1 call from a nail salon in the 1300 Block of Maurice Avenue reporting a robbery that had just occurred. The victim reported that an unknown male subject entered her store while she was with a client, and brandished a handgun while demanding money. The unknown suspect then left the shop on foot towards Maurice Avenue. Images were obtained of the suspect from the businesses surveillance cameras, and those images were sent out to other law enforcement agencies as well as the public asking for assistance in identifying him.

On 10/01/17, Rohnert Park Detectives received a call from San Rafael Police stating they had a similar attempted robbery on Friday, 09/29/17, in which they identified the suspect as 51 year old William Drew Hodges of Rohnert Park. Hodges was a wanted Parolee after he absconded from Parole for a Sonoma County conviction in 2010 for Robbery and Assault with a Deadly Weapon. They also identified his vehicle which was very distinct. Hodges matched the description of the suspect in the Rohnert Park robbery, as well as the suspect in seven other armed robberies that had occurred in Sonoma County since August. Those additional robberies included another armed robbery that occurred in Santa Rosa on 10/02/17. Rohnert Park Detectives began working with Detectives and Officers from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department, the Santa Rosa Police Department, the San Rafael Police Department, the Petaluma Police Department, and the Cotati Police Department regarding all of the robberies.

During further investigation on 10/02/17, Hodges and his vehicle were found on surveillance video in the area of the Rohnert Park nail salon just prior to the robbery. Later that evening, Hodges’ vehicle was located in the driveway of a home in the 200 block of Allan Ave. in Rohnert Park. While continuing to work with the Detectives and Officers from the other departments, Rohnert Park Detectives obtained an arrest warrant for Hodges for the Rohnert Park robbery as well as a search warrant for the house where his car was found. On 10/03/17, at approximately 12:30am, Rohnert Park Detectives and Officers went to the home with Detectives from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department and Santa Rosa Police Department. The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department SWAT team secured the house and took Hodges into custody per the warrants, due to Hodges having used a handgun in the robberies. Hodges exited the house as requested by the SWAT team and he was arrested without incident.

Hodges was brought back to the Rohnert Park Police station where he was interviewed by Detectives from Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa, and the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department. A black BB gun was found in Hodges car that looked like a real firearm, and clothing was found in his car and bedroom that matched the clothing seen in surveillance video from several of the businesses that were robbed. Hodges admitting to committing seven robberies in Sonoma and Marin Counties using the BB gun found in his car. Hodges was booked into the Sonoma County Jail on the Parole Warrant which has no bail, and the Rohnert Park Robbery warrant which had $100,000 bail. The other agencies will be filing cases against Hodges as well for the robberies that occurred in their jurisdictions.

FULL COVERAGE: