Petaluma Police arrested a man early Sunday morning after he frightened other patrons in a Denny’s restaurant by laying a gun and knife on their table and telling them their conversation was “disrespectful.”
Soon after, Thomas Hart, 35, of Sunnyvale was arrested about a half-mile away in a hotel parking lot.
About 2 a.m., customers of the restaurant on Petaluma Boulevard North near Highway 101 called police, saying they were sitting at a table talking with friends when a man walked up and laid a gun and a large knife on the table.
They said the man told the group that their conversation was disrespectful, then picked up the gun and left in his vehicle, Sgt. Andrew Urton.
Another officer checking nearby parking lots spotted Hart in a motel parking lot and detained him. He admitted to brandishing the firearm at the Denny’s, Urton said.
The victims identified Hart, and a gun and knife were recovered, Urton said. Hart was booked into Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of exhibiting a firearm and possessing drug paraphernalia. He was later released on bail, according to jail personnel.
