Sheriff Reports Easter Night Arrest, COVID-19 Release Of 14 Inmates
San Andreas, CA — A visitor who turned violent landed in jail on assault charges.
According to Calaveras County Sheriff Rick DiBasilio, late Sunday night deputies were called to a residence on Old Stage Road where they learned 33-year-old Christopher Bates of San Andreas, who after beginning to act “strangely” and being told to leave, became more agitated and swung an object at a victim.
After making contact with Bates, deputies were able to arrest and handcuff him. However, while trying to make a break for it, the sheriff says the suspect fell to the ground and began trying to slip the cuffs before being apprehended.
Bates was transported to Calaveras County Jail and booked on felony charges of assault with a deadly weapon not a firearm and battery as well as misdemeanor charges of obstructing a peace officer and vandalism. His bail was set at $30,000.
However, the sheriff adds the jail is in the process of releasing 14 inmates due to a recent Judicial Council of California temporary action to end cash bail for lower-level felonies and most misdemeanors due to the COVID-19 emergency.
The move, made to reduce inmate populations and limit the spread of the virus, becomes effective at 5 p.m. Monday. Those suspected of DUI, domestic violence and sex crimes are not included in the emergency order, which remains in effect until 90 days after Governor Gavin Newsom lifts the COVID-19 state of emergency or the council repeals it.
