Crime & Safety

Novato Police Arrest Seafood Peddler Cook

Police arrest Samual James Smith on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon with likely great bodily injury, imprisonment with violence, making threats to terrorize and stalking.

staked out one of San Rafael’s most renowned restaurants Tuesday morning and arrested a 35-year-old man suspected of ongoing domestic violence.

Samual James Smith, a cook at the Seafood Peddler on the San Rafael waterfront, was arrested without incident at 9:47 a.m., Novato police Sgt. Jay Demski said.

A Novato woman contacted police Monday and reported past incidents of violence then met with an officer for an interview, Demski said. She told of being held against her will and being threatened with a knife about two weeks earlier.

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“For whatever reason, she didn’t feel comfortable reporting it until (Monday) night,” Demski said. “An officer met with her where she was staying because she said she was afraid to go home.”

Demski said officers had a brief phone conversation with Smith on Monday night, giving them probable cause for arrest. Officers arrested him when he showed up at the restaurant Tuesday morning, and he was booked at Marin County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon (not a firearm) with likely great bodily injury, imprisonment with violence, making threats to terrorize and stalking. All are felonies.

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In addition, Smith faces misdemeanor charges of battery on a cohabitant or former spouse and preventing or dissuading from reporting of a crime. His bail was set at $200,000.


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