Assault with a Deadly Weapon and Resisting Arrest

45-year-old Joseph E. Worthington of Sonora was arrested on Thursday, February 20th for multiple charges, including assault with a deadly weapon, first-degree burglary, and resisting arrest.

 

At around 3:15 p.m., the Sonora Police Department responded to the 400 block of Greenley Road on a report of a male subject chasing people with a metal bat.  The first officer arrived on scene and was directed by witnesses to an alleyway between two apartments at which point she encountered Worthington, whom she recognized from prior contacts.

 

Worthington did not have the bat in his hand at the time but immediately fled the area on foot when the officer tried to contact him.  The officer chased him several hundred yards until he was finally detained in the woodline behind the Senior Center as several officers converged on him.  Worthington was taken into custody without further incident.

 

Identified victims and witnesses allege that Worthington, while agitated and yelling, aggressively raised an aluminum baseball bat at some victims, and swung the bat at others. It was also reported that Worthington entered an apartment and swung the bat at another victim.  The victims included adults and children as young as one year of age.

 

Worthington was booked at the Tuolumne County Jail for first-degree burglary, assault with a deadly weapon, brandishing a deadly weapon, and resisting arrest.