A 48-year-old Petaluma taekwondo instructor was arrested Saturday on a felony warrant after a routine traffic stop, capping three separate police investigations that stretched back to 2024. Luis Menjivar Chicas now faces multiple felony counts tied to allegations involving minors, and investigators say the case remains active.
The arrest warrant for Chicas stemmed from three related investigations, two conducted by Petaluma police and one by Santa Rosa police, according to KION Central Coast. Chicas was taken into custody on suspicion of lewd acts with children following the traffic stop, as reported by CBS News. He has been identified as a taekwondo instructor who resided in Petaluma.
Investigation Traces Back to a 2024 Report in Santa Rosa
The earliest thread in the case began in 2024, when Santa Rosa police started investigating Chicas after receiving a report of an alleged sexual assault involving a minor victim, per the same account. Police said at the time that there was not enough evidence to prosecute Chicas following that investigation, and the case did not immediately lead to charges.
The matter resurfaced in January when Petaluma police began investigating after a separate report that Chicas was suspected of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old. Petaluma investigators then learned of the earlier Santa Rosa police investigation, connecting the two cases.
Additional Victims Came Forward in April
In April, Petaluma police received another report alleging that Chicas had sexually assaulted two additional minor victims over the course of multiple years. Those two victims reported that the alleged assaults occurred while they were minors living in Santa Rosa, and the station's report notes that, according to police, the victims said Chicas was renting a room in their family home at the time the assaults allegedly occurred.
All three investigations were ultimately forwarded to Sonoma County prosecutors, leading to the arrest warrant that resulted in Saturday's traffic stop arrest. Chicas has been charged with multiple felonies, including lewd acts with children, assault with the intent to commit a felony upon a juvenile, continual sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14, and lewd acts with a child by force or fear, officials said.
Police Investigating Whether He Was Still Teaching Students
Investigators said they are also looking into whether Chicas was actively instructing students at the time of his arrest, a detail that remains unresolved according to the same report. Police described the investigation as ongoing and asked anyone in the community with relevant information to contact detectives.
