In Your Town for Sept. 4, 2024

NOVATO

Plane crash
ID released

The Marin County Sheriff’s Office released the name of a pilot who died in a plane crash at a Novato airport.

Jeffrey Buren Khahling, 75, of Redding, was found in a single-engine Aero Commander 200D that crashed into a hanger at Gnoss Field around 4 p.m. on Saturday. The hangar, the plane, and nearby brush caught fire and were extinguished by firefighters, authorities reported.

Khahling was the only occupant onboard the plane, the sheriff’s office said.

The incident is being investigated by the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board with assistance from the sheriff’s office.

Police report arrest
at DUI checkpoint

Police arrested one driver suspected of intoxication during a traffic checkpoint on Novato Boulevard.

Police set up the checkpoint Friday just north of Diablo Avenue. Aside from the DUI arrest, officers cited 16 drivers who had no license and five whose licenses were suspended or revoked.

Police said 1,306 drivers went through the checkpoint and 67 were told to pull into a screening area.

The checkpoint was funded through state and federal grant programs.

SAN RAFAEL

Woman sentenced
in sex offense case

A San Rafael woman convicted of unlawful sex with a minor has been sentenced to 90 days in jail.

Cecilia Beatriz Alvarado Ramos, 22, was arrested by San Rafael police in December. The child’s parents discovered evidence of the six-month-long relationship on a phone, police said.

Alvarado Ramos pleaded guilty in April, according to court records. Judge Geoffrey Howard sentenced her on Thursday. The defendant was also given two years of probation.

Alvarado Ramos’ public defender, Hayden Brown, declined to comment.

WEST MARIN

San Rafael man
accused of threats

A San Rafael man was arrested after authorities said he threatened people with a knife at a Stinson Beach restaurant.

Sheriff’s deputies were notified around 9:41 p.m. Saturday about a disturbance at a business near Shoreline Highway and Calle del Mar.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Adam Schermerhorn said that the suspect was angry when he was told the business was closed. He then kicked signs and pulled out a knife when employees confronted him, Schermerhorn said.

The suspect threatened more people outside the restaurant and slapped a phone away from a person who tried to call 911, he said.

Deputies found the suspect sitting in his vehicle. He refused to get out. Schermerhorn said deputies waited for him to calm down and then detained him as he exited the vehicle.

Rama Bowen, 56, was arrested on suspicion of criminal threats, damaging a wireless communications device, exhibiting a deadly weapon, and obstructing deputies. He was booked into Marin County Jail, where his bail was set at $50,000.