Machete-Wielding Man, Stolen Car, Fights Keep Novato Police Busy

Novato police have been busy over the past 24 hours, with a car chase, arrest of a man who was wielding a machete and a felon found with a gun and ammunition.

One of those arrested Monday was Christopher Butler, 23, after police say the Novato resident swung an 18-inch “machete-style” knife at a man who he thought had stolen his cell phone from him a week earlier. Butler, a manager at a McDonald’s, has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon and making threats.

Then early Tuesday, Novato police arrested Demetrius Johnson, 28, and a Novato resident, after responding to a fight in a parking lot on Center Road near South Novato Boulevard. Officers detained the three men who were fighting. A further search revealed that Johnson, a convicted felon, had a loaded and concealed gun, as well as extra ammunition in his possession.

Also on Tuesday morning around 3am, police tried to pull over a car without a headlight on Vallejo Street, but the driver did not comply. A chase ensued and the officer lost track of the suspect briefly before locating him in the 1600 block of Center Road. The car turned out to be a stolen vehicle. The owner was contacted and hadn’t realized his vehicle had been stolen. 

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