Valley Ford murder suspect released by Sheriff's Deputies two hours before murder took place
The suspect was examined by deputies after being escorted out of a local hotel
This is Part One of a series. Read Part Two and Three here.
This is a developing story. Please reach out to me at ezrawallach5528@gmail.com or 847-903-0166 with any details about the murder, the victim or the suspect.
The Sebastopol Times has learned that Adrian Yanez, the suspect in a shocking murder which took place in Valley Ford on Saturday, Nov. 16, was released by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department earlier that same day after harassing an employee at a local hotel. This information has now been confirmed by the Sheriff’s Department.
On Friday night, the night before the murder, Yanez stayed at the Farmhouse Inn, a 5-star hotel in the Forestville area. According to an anonymous source, Yanez did not match the typical, posh clientele of the Farmhouse Inn, where rooms can cost upwards of $1,200 a night. Wearing a construction worker’s vest and dirty boots, Yanez was exhibiting strange behavior. He was dancing, being loud and pacing around.
On Saturday morning, Yanez sexually harassed one of the hotel’s employees, causing the hotel to call law enforcement. According to data from the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Log, the event, noted as “disturbance unwanted guest,” was first dispatched to the department at 11:30 a.m. at the intersection of River Road and Wohler Road in Forestville, where the Farmhouse Inn is located.
The Sheriff’s Department was at the hotel conducting interviews with people at the hotel for over an hour. After conducting tests on Yanez, officers decided to leave the scene at 1:24 p.m., according to Rob Dillon, the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Deputy.
“Ultimately, he had not committed any crime, and he wasn't under the influence of anything,” said Dillon. “There's no legal authority for us to hold him or detain him.”
“He was basically released and told to leave the property,” added Dillon, “and that if he returned to the property, then he will have committed a crime, and that would have been trespassing.”
Less than two hours after the deputies released Yanez, Yanez allegedly carried out the murder in Valley Ford.
The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department announced and described the murder on Facebook the next day.
“On Saturday, November 16th, at approximately 3 p.m., Sheriff's Office dispatch received a call reporting that an unknown man was screaming outside the caller's rural family home on Carroll Rd. in Valley Ford,” the Facebook post read.
“Deputies were dispatched to the rural residence and continued receiving information about the incident while en-route,” the post continued. “The suspect, Adrian Yanez, 44, Fairfield, was reported to be screaming at the two family members and attempting to break down the door. One family member began locking doors and windows, and the other person hid in the home. Yanez ultimately broke down the door and murdered the victim. The caller continued relaying information about the incident as deputies arrived. With the information provided to call takers, deputies were quickly able to locate Yanez, take him into custody, and recover the weapon. Sheriff's Office Violent Crime Detectives were called to take over the investigation. Yanez was booked into the Sonoma County Jail on the following charges, he remains in custody with no bail. Detectives are still investigating to determine a motive in the murder.”
The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Department did not mention in their Facebook post that they had gotten a call about Yanez hours before the murder. Sixteen minutes after the publishing of this story, they updated the Facebook post with information about that incident.
This is a developing story. Please reach out to me at ezrawallach5528@gmail.com or 847-903-0166 with any information on Yanez, the murder or the victim.
The fact that the Sheriff’s department thought they could leave out that detail speaks volumes about what information they’d rather hide. And begs the question, what else don’t they tell the public? Deserves its own investigation. Excellent reporting, Ezra.
Thank you Ezra. Gruesome but nicely written story.