“In the evening hours of 05/08/2026, Sonoma County Sheriff’s detectives began surveilling a subject they believed to be involved in the ongoing thefts of AT&T telecommunications wire around Sonoma County. During their ongoing investigation, detectives identified Jose Torres Diaz, 28, of Richmond as a suspect in the ongoing thefts.
At around 0430 hours on 05/09/2026, Diaz was followed to an area of Bennett Vallet Road where he had previously been seen inspecting telecommunications lines. As detectives followed Diaz, they saw him stop numerous times and load bundles of pre-cut, pre-staged wire into his vehicle.
After loading the wire into his car, patrol deputies attempt to stop Diaz in the area of northbound Highway 101 near College Avenue. Deputies initiated an enforcement stop on Diaz’s vehicle. Diaz pulled over, and after about 2-3 seconds, Diaz accelerated through the intersection of College Avenue and on to the northbound Highway 101 onramp against a red light. Deputies began pursing Diaz with lights and sirens activated…