Runaway From Novato Involved in Hotel Gun Drama

Three people were taken into custody Sunday morning after a woman who suspected her boyfriend was cheating on her showed up to confront him at a Travelodge motel in San Rafael with an armed companion, according to police.

The Marin Independent Journal reported that a Novato girl, described by police as a runaway, was in the motel during the incident.

At about 7:50 a.m. Sunday, police received a report of people arguing in a room at the motel, located at 865 Francisco Blvd. E. Police said an armed man and a woman had forced their way into one of the rooms and threatened a man inside with a handgun.

A second man in the room — later identified as the woman's boyfriend — jumped out of a second-floor bathroom window to escape, leaving the first man, Humberto Espinoza, 29, of Daly City, with the intruders, according to police.

Espinoza told investigators the male suspect had held a gun to his head and demanded to know the whereabouts of his friend, according to police. The man and woman then fled in a silver BMW. Police said Espinoza did not know the male suspect but knew the female was his friend's girlfriend, Shannon Nakooka, 24, of San Rafael, according to police.

Marin County sheriff's deputies tracked down the pair nearby in the parking lot of County Club Bowl at 88 Vivian St. Nakooka was booked into jail on charges of armed robbery, burglary, conspiracy and violation of probation. The male suspect, Juan Ponce, 30, of Richmond, was booked for assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, conspiracy and being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun charges, police said.

Officers recovered a handgun from the car during the pair's arrest, according to police.

Police said further investigation indicated that Espinoza had taken a teenage girl into the motel where the two men were spending the night. He was arrested on suspicion of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and possession of a controlled substance.

Nakooka, who investigators said feared that her boyfriend was cheating on her with the girl, had allegedly enlisted the help of Ponce to find him, according to police.

The boyfriend was found late Sunday, and provided investigators with a statement. He was not injured in the jump from the window, and was not arrested, police spokeswoman Margo Rohrbacher said.

Police located two female runaways, ages 15 and 16, and released them to their families.

Nakooka's three children, ages 5, 4, and 1, were placed in the care of Child Protective Services, police said.

All three arrestees were taken to Marin County Jail and are scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday morning, according to police.

— Bay City News Service