Man stabs himself to avoid police inquiry

SANTA ROSA Police said the man, whose name was not released, used a homemade spear to stab himself in the stomach as detectives tried to enter his Santa Rosa home early Sunday morning.

He remained hospitalized but was expected to survive.

Sgt. Lisa Banayat said the 29-year-old mother was loading groceries into her car Thursday evening when a man threatening to hurt her preschooler forced her to drive to a nearby darkened street, where he sexually assaulted and stabbed her.

Banayat said the mother was still in the hospital recovering from her injuries. The child was not hurt.