A 29-year-old North Bay man is behind bars after a sprawling search near the Mendocino County line in connection with a string of arsons around Cloverdale. Deputies say the suspect, identified as Luke Deramo, was arrested about a mile south of where a vegetation fire had just been reported.
According to investigators, the arrest came shortly after reports that a man had emerged from thick brush, climbed onto a woman’s pickup, and vandalized it with a rock. Not long after that confrontation, a nearby blaze was called in.
Follow-up Search Leads Deputies To Geyser Road
Deputies with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office were already in the area running a follow-up investigation along Geyser Road near the Mendocino County line when the situation escalated, according to CBS News.
Roughly 30 minutes after deputies began their checks, a woman parked along the roadway called 911 to report a man emerging from the brush and climbing onto the bed of her truck. Deputies say he then used a rock to damage the vehicle. Sonoma County deputies, Cloverdale police and Cal Fire crews flooded the area searching for the suspect, and a vegetation fire was reported in the same general area where he was last seen.
Cloverdale Has Seen Arson Arrests Before
Cloverdale is no stranger to arson probes. In June 2025, a brush fire at Cloverdale River Park ended with an arrest after firefighters spotted a man walking away from the scene, according to The Press Democrat…