Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office arrests two more suspects tied to Sebastopol stabbing

Two Santa Rosa men were jailed Wednesday on allegations they helped an 18-year-old suspect in a fatal Sebastopol stabbing flee to Marin County and subsequently hid his car from authorities.

Joshua Cassidy, 21, and Shyzaha Thorpe, 20, who face charges of being accessories to murder, drove Anthony Ibach from Santa Rosa to a friend’s home in San Rafael in the aftermath of the stabbing, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said.

Ibach of Sebastopol stabbed to death Cory Vaughn, 19, during a fight in a parking lot behind the Gravenstein Grill around 12:30 p.m. Saturday, said the sheriff’s office, which is investigating the slaying.

Ibach, who left his maroon 2001 BMW 325i at Cassidy’s home, was arrested after being spotted by San Rafael police on the 500 block of Francisco Boulevard around 6 p.m. Saturday, authorities said. He initially gave a false name but was taken to Sonoma County Jail and booked on homicide charges after his identity was confirmed.

Cassidy and Thorpe learned through media reports that Ibach was the primary suspect in the murder of Vaughn, a 2016 Analy High School graduate, after driving Ibach to San Rafael, the sheriff’s office said.

The two returned in Thorpe’s car Sunday to Santa Rosa, where authorities said they moved Ibach’s BMW to Yuba Drive in west Santa Rosa. The car was spotted and reported to the sheriff’s office Tuesday by someone who saw the vehicle description on social media.

Detectives found evidence tied to the stabbing in both Ibach’s car and at Cassidy’s home, authorities said.

The district attorney’s office filed a murder charge against Ibach Wednesday in Sonoma County Superior Court, Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Staebell said.

Ibach, who’s attempting to secure a private attorney, is next scheduled to appear in court May 15.

The sheriff’s office has not disclosed if detectives have recovered the weapon used in the slaying. It also released few details about what fueled the attack.

Ibach and Vaughn, who knew each other from high school, had been at a house party nearby before the fight broke out in the parking lot at the intersection of Bodega Avenue and Pleasant Hill Road.

Sheriff’s officials said the two men had “unresolved issues.” But witnesses have offered various explanations about the nature of the disagreement, Sgt. Spencer Crum said.

You can reach Staff Writer Nick Rahaim at 707-521-5203 or nick.rahaim@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @nrahaim