A fifth suspect in the Picnic Day fight between police officers and a group of revelers turned herself in to authorities over the weekend.
Angelica Reyes, 20, of Rio Linda, was booked Friday into the Yolo County Jail on a warrant charging her with assault with a deadly weapon and obstructing an officer, according to Yolo County sheriff’s Sgt. Matt Davis, whose agency operates the jail.
She has since been freed on bail.
Davis police declined to discuss Reyes’ role in the April 22 brawl in light of the still-active investigation, but video recordings of the incident indicate that Reyes, who is heard being called by her first name in some of the footage, was the person who kicked Davis police Sgt. Steve Ramos several times in the head as he struggled with another man on the ground.
Lt. Paul Doroshov did confirm Friday the arrest the night before of another suspect, 21-year-old Romeo Lopez of Sacramento, on a warrant charging him with assault with a deadly weapon upon a peace officer, resisting arrest and interfering with an arrest.
The incident occurred on Russell Boulevard near the UC Davis campus, where plain-clothed officers riding in an unmarked van pulled over to move along a crowd of partiers who were partially blocking the roadway.
A melee erupted during which three people in the crowd were arrested on assault and battery charges.
Alexander Craver, 22; Antwoine Perry, 21; and 19-year-old Elijah Williams appeared in Yolo Superior Court on May 23, but the Yolo County District Attorney’s Office requested more time to review their cases before making a charging decision. The trio is due back in court Tuesday.
It was not immediately clear Monday whether Lopez and Reyes would appear in court Tuesday as well. Authorities also would not confirm whether additional arrests are pending.
The suspects and other witnesses who were in the crowd have claimed the officers, all of whom were dressed in street clothes while one also wore a police vest, failed to identify themselves as police officers and were the aggressors in the confrontation.
The officers, two of whom suffered head injuries in the fight from kicks and a bottle strike, say crowd members attacked first as one of the officers exited the van.
Davis Police Chief Darren Pytel ordered an internal affairs investigation into the incident but is still seeking an outside investigator to conduct the probe. The city’s initial choice, former Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinness, withdrew from the investigation amid community outcry over recent comments he made on his radio show regarding African Americans.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene