'I feel unsafe': Victims concerned after jail's COVID policy allows accused Petaluma vandal back on street
PETALUMA, Calif. (KGO) -- Maybe you have seen the home surveillance video that has much of Petaluma angry tonight. It shows a homeless suspect named Jeffrey Berg allegedly breaking the window of a car with a shovel. And that was just the beginning.
"This was his favorite car, " said Miranda Limonczenko, who lives a couple of blocks away on Bernice Court. She found every window broken in her Honda Accord, and another broken window in the living room of her house.
Miranda is one of 11 victims. "I almost don't care so much about the damage as I feel unsafe," she said.
"This is his third attack on homes and vehicles," noted Danielle Gibbs, who lived across the street. She has checked the records and spoken with Petaluma Police. That same morning, she found damage to two of her cars after waking up to the shattering of her bedroom window.
"Glass flew all over me, my husband, the bed..." Gibbs said.
After the attack, Danielle says Jeffrey Berg stool calmly in the street, waited for police, and asked for a cigarette. "He just looked completely calm," Berg said.
Beyond the damage, what leaves residents most angry is how, after being arrested, the Sonoma County Jail released Berg without bail. Blame COVID-19 and safety policies about keeping people overnight.
Then, in Santa Rosa this morning, police arrested Jeffrey Berg again, for assault. It exasperates Petaluma Police Lt. Tim Lyons. "There were 11 victims. He assaulted a police car. We would hope that person would stay in custody. Especially for doing the same thing we arrested him for in January," Lyons said.
But these are strange, stressful times. Technically, it is just property damage.
Do not expect that to appease the residents of Bernice Court.
"I just don't feel safe," said Danielle Gibbs. "And I don't know if he will be out the same night."
"How frustrating is that?"
"Beyond words."
