An 88-year-old Petaluma man known in the community for dressing up as Santa Claus was taken into custody Sunday after police said he fired a gun during a dispute with relatives.
The Petaluma Police Department said dispatchers received a call around 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 7 about a man who had armed himself following an argument with family members. He was later identified as Ronald Shipley, according to a police news release.
Shipley, a retired PG&E gas expert, has lived in Petaluma since 1957, according to a 2016 Petaluma Argus-Courier profile. Locals know him as the man who rocked a Santa suit at downtown gatherings and aboard the Barbara Lind tugboat during the city’s annual Santa’s Riverboat Arrival parade…