SONOMA COUNTY (BCN)—The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office Wednesday arrested a Santa Rosa man and a felon wanted in El Dorado County after an auto burglary at a Windsor business Sunday.
Robert Gilliland, 27, of Santa Rosa, and Michael Bonari, 32, of El Dorado County were seen in a white Dodge pickup on a surveillance camera at the PolarClad wine tank insulation business on Conde Lane in Windsor Sunday, sheriff’s Sgt. Spencer Crum said.
Gilliland formerly worked at the company, and he and Bonari stole PolarClad business credit cards out of an unlocked business vehicle on the property and used the cards to buy thousands of dollars of tools and merchandise at the nearby Home Depot store, Crum said.
Sheriff’s detectives viewed the video and identified Gilliland and Bonari as the men in the truck that was stolen July 20 in Placerville, Crum said.
Bonari was featured on television as a most wanted felon in El Dorado County for DUIs a probation violation and possession of the stolen Dodge truck, Crum said.
A sheriff’s sergeant spotted the stolen truck with dealer license plates on Franklin Street in Santa Rosa around 3:45 a.m. Wednesday. Gilliland, the driver, pulled over and was arrested, but Bonari escaped, Crum said. Detectives found evidence of identity theft, credit card fraud and counterfeiting in the truck.
Bonari was tracked to the Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa around 1 p.m. He escaped through a rear door, ran through the parking lot, jumped fences into yards but was apprehended near the hotel, Crum said.
Both men were arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle and stolen property, attempted burglary, resisting arrest and identity theft. They were booked in the Sonoma County Jail and are being held without bail because of outstanding warrants on unrelated cases, Crum said.
Gilliland unsuccessfully tried to enter the PolarClad business in late July, Crum said.