Woman arrested in Santa Rosa for allegedly threatening multiple people with knife

By Carlos E. Castañeda

A woman wielding a knife allegedly threatened people outside a supermarket in Santa Rosa before officers used less-than-lethal devices to immobilize her and take her into custody, police said on Monday.

The incident happened on Sunday at about 9:45 a.m. at the Mendocino Marketplace shopping mall on Mendocino Avenue. The Santa Rosa Police Department said in a press release that dispatchers received multiple 911 calls about a female suspect with a large knife chasing people near the Safeway store and attempting to stab them.

Callers described the woman as having blonde hair, wearing a white shirt and black leggings, and armed with a knife. Police said they reported the woman was headed south across Mendocino Avenue toward a Chase Bank parking lot. Officers found the woman near the front of the bank, armed with a knife, and she refused officers’ commands – at one point, pointing the knife toward officers and directing them to stay back, police said. 

Attempts to de-escalate the standoff failed, and after about 10 minutes, officers fired a projectile at her, but it had no effect, police said. Officers then shot her with a stun gun, and she was taken into custody, according to police. Officers also recovered a knife at the scene.

The woman, who police described as a transient, was identified as 55-year-old Tiffany Espinoza. She was taken to a hospital for minor injuries and later booked into the Sonoma County Jail on charges of brandishing a weapon, criminal threats, and resisting officers through force or threats. 

No one else was injured during the incident. Police temporarily blocked southbound Mendocino Avenue during the standoff.

Anyone who witnessed the incident or was contacted or threatened by the suspect was encouraged to contact Officer Mann at bmann@srcity.org.