An early morning call on December 7 to Sonoma County Sheriff's deputies led to the arrest of Clint Mitchell, a 64-year-old Santa Rosa man barred from gun possession, as he was found in possession of seven firearms and a cache of ammunition. According to the Sonoma Sheriff's Office, multiple reports had been received about gunshots in the Gates Road area, prompting the authorities to investigate the legality of the shooting. Despite finding evidence of shooting, such as casings on Mitchell's porch, deputies initially left the scene after failing to establish that a crime had taken place.
Concerned for public safety and spurred by past calls about Mitchell's dangerous handling of firearms, the deputies, after discovering he was recently listed by the Department of Justice as prohibited from owning or possessing guns, took decisive action. They established that Mitchell had 15 guns registered in his name, directly violating the prohibition against him.
With an arrest warrant, detectives apprehended Mitchell on the evening of December 9 in St. Helena. At the time of his arrest, Mitchell was armed with two loaded handgun magazines and a shotgun ready to fire in his vehicle. Subsequently, a SWAT team and detectives served a search warrant on his property, which had been fortified with booby traps. They uncovered an unsettling array of weaponry and ammunition, including seven guns and roughly thousands of rounds of various calibers, along with a ballistic vest and evidence of gunplay like spent casings and bullet-riddled walls.
Mitchell is currently detained on $130,000 bail, facing three felony charges: a prohibited person carrying a loaded gun in public, a prohibited person owning ammunition, and possessing a gun within 5 years of being banned.
