A 27-year-old unhoused man is facing felony charges after allegedly threatening two young children with a screwdriver at Ives Park on Sunday afternoon, asking them if they wanted to get stabbed — just two days after he walked out of Sonoma County Jail. Noah Curry was arrested within minutes a few blocks away, in the parking lot of the Safeway on North Main Street, and remained in custody Tuesday on $50,000 bail.
According to The Press Democrat, Sebastopol police officers responded to Ives Park around 4:30 p.m. Sunday after two children, ages 8 and 9, reported that a man had brandished a screwdriver at them and asked whether they wanted to get stabbed. Officers located Curry in the Safeway lot shortly afterward and found a screwdriver in his pocket before arresting him. The Safeway lot was a few blocks from the park.
The Sonoma County District Attorney's Office has charged Curry with two felony counts of making criminal threats and one misdemeanor count of displaying a deadly weapon, per the same Press Democrat report. Prosecutors are seeking a longer sentence by citing Curry's prior felony weapons conviction, and he was scheduled for a court appearance Tuesday.
A Revolving Door Through Sebastopol's Jail System
Curry has been in and out of jail since 2018, the outlet reports, and was most recently incarcerated last month after violating parole tied to a March weapons case. He was released from Sonoma County Jail on October 16 — just two days before the Ives Park confrontation. Police say Curry has now been arrested in Sebastopol five times in 2026 alone, and the Sebastopol Police Department said officers were already familiar with him from previous encounters and similar incidents.
Police have described extensive prior contact with Curry before the October incident. The Sebastopol Police Department condemned Curry's alleged conduct and said officers would continue working to prevent similar incidents in the community.
What the Charges Could Mean
Under California Penal Code Section 422, criminal threats can be charged as a felony carrying up to three years in state prison, and a felony conviction may count as a serious strike under the state's Three Strikes law, according to Power Trial Lawyers. That strike provision is central to why prosecutors are pointing to Curry's earlier felony weapons conviction in seeking a longer term. Separately, Penal Code Section 417 defines displaying a deadly weapon other than a firearm as a misdemeanor punishable by a mandatory minimum of 30 days in county jail, per Wallin & Klarich — the statute underlying the weapon count filed against Curry.
Why Ives Park, and Why It Matters Locally
Ives Park, at 7400 Willow Street, is Sebastopol's oldest community park, established more than 65 years ago and serving as the city's hub for events like the Apple Blossom Festival, according to the City of Sebastopol. It includes a municipal pool, a playground, and a Little League field just blocks from downtown, which helps explain why an armed threat against children there drew immediate public safety concern.
The arrest also lands amid broader strain on Sebastopol's small police force. The department spends about half its time on activities relating to the unhoused community. The Sebastopol Times has separately reported that the Sonoma County Jail generally does not accept bookings for lower-level misdemeanor offenses, a constraint that limits holding options for repeat transient offenders before more serious incidents occur.
A Sebastopol City Council report from August 2025 noted that officers maintain daily check-ins and direct contact with the city's unhoused population, a familiarity that city officials say helps investigators quickly identify suspects — much as it apparently did in Curry's case. Countywide, SAFE teams serve as civilian first responders, while a West County team was being explored. Officials point to the 2024 Sonoma County Point-In-Time survey, which found 93 percent of unhoused people surveyed said they would accept permanent housing if it were available, as evidence that the core obstacle remains a shortage of supportive housing units rather than a lack of willingness.
Curry remained in Sonoma County Jail as of Tuesday, according to jail records, with his case moving forward in Sonoma County court.
