Petaluma domestic violence suspect arrested again after holding woman hostage, standoff
PETALUMA – A North Bay man who was previously arrested for domestic violence was arrested again after police said he violated a protective order and held a woman hostage over the weekend.
Officers were called to an apartment near the 700 block of Lakeville Circle around 6 p.m. Saturday on reports of a domestic disturbance, with callers saying they heard a woman screaming and items being thrown.
Police said they were called to the same location at least twice in the previous two weeks, prompting the arrest of 33-year-old Kenneth Massucco on multiple charges, including felony domestic violence, threatening to shoot officers and resisting arrest.
A judge issued an emergency protection order against Massucco, prohibiting him from being at the residence or contacting the victim.
When police arrived Saturday, officers said they heard the front door of the home being nailed shut. Massucco came to the front window, told officers he was alone and refused to leave the home. Officers said they also heard the woman and items being moved around to barricade the doors.
After several failed attempts to get both people to leave the home, police summoned the department's Crisis Response Team and obtained an arrest warrant for Massucco for false imprisonment and violating a domestic violence restraining order.
Police then located the suspect and victim in an upstairs bedroom. Several attempts were made to negotiate with Massucco but were unsuccessful.
Officers then entered the home through a rear sliding glass door and found the suspect had littered the stairs. While officers cleared the items, police said a "noise-flash diversionary device" was used outside to try and serve as a distraction.
Police said they attempted to negotiate with the suspect face-to-face, but the suspect did not listen to their requests to free the woman.
"Massucco refused to surrender, was physically preventing the victim from leaving, had assaulted the victim, and threw items at officers," officers said in a statement Monday.
As Massucco exited the bedroom, officers then shot him with 40mm less lethal sponge baton round and tried to deploy a K-9. Massucco retreated back into the bedroom with the victim before the dog could reach him.
Officers outside the apartment then used a ladder and broke the bedroom window, at which point Massucco ran into another bedroom. The victim was then rescued by officers.
Police said the woman suffered "significant non-life-threatening injuries."
Meanwhile, Massucco continued to refuse calls to surrender and even broke out a window to yell at officers. The standoff ended around 12:30 a.m. Sunday, after officers placed a chemical irritant inside the apartment.
Massucco was taken into custody and was booked into jail after being medically cleared at a hospital. He faces charges of felony domestic battery, false imprisonment, violating a court order, committing felony while out on bail and resisting arrest.
Police said Massucco is being held on $250,000 bail.
If you or someone you know is a victim of domestic violence, there are resources. The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached at 1-800-799-7233 (TDD: 1-800-787-3224) and provides free and private help in more than 100 languages.
Additional resources can be found on the California Courts website.
