Suspect arrested for allegedly attacking wheelchair-bound man with knife, hammer

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SANTA ROSA, Calif. - A suspect is in custody in Santa Rosa on Wednesday for allegedly attacking a homeless man in a wheelchair with a knife and a hammer.

Santa Rosa Police Department officers were sent just before 4 p.m. Tuesday to the area of South Wright Road and Finley Avenue on reports of a possible stabbing and found the 52-year-old victim at a bus stop near the intersection, according to a department statement.

Police reported they found the man suffering from multiple cuts and "at least one puncture wound to his arms and one leg." He was taken to a hospital for treatment of "significant" injuries.

The Attack:

The police department learned that the man was sitting at the bus stop when another man "aggressively approached him and pushed over his wheelchair unprovoked," according to a department statement.

The suspect then produced a hammer and a pocketknife, hitting and slashing the man several times. The suspect fled the scene before police arrived, but police were able to obtain a description from witnesses at the scene.

Finding the Suspect:

SRPD officers searched the area and found 18-year-old Ricky Carver, a homeless man from Santa Rosa, walking in the 3900 block of Louis Krohn Drive, about a mile away from the scene of the attack.

Police officers detained him and found he was in possession of a hammer and pocketknife.

Officers identified Carver as the suspect in the attack and placed him under arrest. One of the responding officers said they believed Carver had also brandished a hammer at employees of a downtown retail store earlier that same day after returning items he was attempting to steal.

Carver was booked into the Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the attack at the bus stop. Charges for his alleged brandishing of a hammer at the store were also requested and are pending review, according to the police department.

Sonoma County Sheriff's Office jail records confirmed Carver was being held in jail in lieu of $200,000 bail, and he is scheduled to appear in court on Friday.

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