Petaluma police arrest man in suspected kidnapping, assault and DUI crash

Petaluma police arrested a 28-year-old man on suspicion of kidnapping, assault and drunken driving after he crashed into a tree Saturday morning.

Dispatchers received a call about a fight and subsequent kidnapping in the parking lot at Orchard Supply Hardware on North McDowell Avenue about 2:40 a.m., Petaluma police said.

When officers responded, Benjamin Sher, a San Diego resident from Petaluma, and the unidentified victim were nowhere to be found, police said. Shortly after the victim called 911 from a residence on Western Avenue after Sher crashed into a tree and the victim was able to get away, police said.

Sher fled the scene and ran into open space around Helen Putnam Regional Park, police said. Petaluma police and Sonoma County sheriff’s deputies searched the area and found him about 3:45 a.m. He was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol, police said.

Sher was booked in Sonoma County Jail with bail set at $100,000.

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