Suspects arrested in two stabbing attacks on Santa Rosa’s Joe Rodota Trail

Two homeless men were arrested Thursday in two unrelated stabbings on the Joe Rodota Trail in Santa Rosa, with the latest attack coming early Thursday near a small homeless encampment west of Roseland, near the intersection of North Wright Road and Sebastopol Road.

The arrests come after local officials vowed to close a half-mile stretch of the trail on May 30 to clear a homeless encampment near Dutton Avenue that nears about 100 people and has resulted in squalid surroundings and violent confrontations. A bicycle commuter on the trail last week was punched in the face as he tried to get through the area. A suspect later was arrested in that attack.

In the latest incident Thursday, officers were called out at 6:25 a.m. to the trail, where police said a man was stabbed several times in the torso and arms. The victim was not cooperative with police and was taken to a local hospital with injuries that weren’t life-threatening.

Detectives recovered bloody clothing and knife used in the crime, police said. After a short search, officers arrested Benny Frank Gonzales, a 46-year-old homeless man, on a complaint of assault with a deadly weapon.

Hours later, detectives arrested Robert James Glosser, a 38-year-old homeless man, on a complaint of assault with a deadly weapon and probation violations for a April 24 stabbing on the trail, police said.

That attack occurred about two miles west of the large homeless camp that has overtaken Joe Rodota Trail near Dutton Avenue and drawn the attention of both police and local government officials. The victim was stabbed in the back, leaving him with a piece of the knife blade lodged inside him. He was taken to a local hospital, but his injuries weren’t life-threatening.

Officers earlier this month made between 15 and 20 arrests near the encampment over the span of a 1 1/2 weeks, police said. They were mostly for outstanding warrants and probation violations.

The encampment contains former residents of an earlier camp set up behind the Dollar Tree store in Roseland that county officials cleared out in late April.

Detectives investigating last month’s stabbing previously identified Glosser as a suspect but had not been able to locate him, police said.

Glosser’s attorney called police on Thursday and arranged a meeting with detectives to get a statement. He later was taken into custody, police said.

You can reach Staff Writer Bill Swindell at 707-521-5223 or bill.swindell@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @BillSwindell.