Second Suspect Arrested in Halloween Robbery Case

A second suspect has been arrested in connection with the assault on a Novato man by two women in Halloween costumes — one a fairy princess and one an Army soldier.

At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Keren Anne Blake, 39 of Petaluma was apprehended by Petaluma police at a transient camp along the Petaluma River, Petaluma police Lt. Tim Lyons said. Officers acted on a tip that Blake might be at the camp near the railroad tracks behind the 900 block of Petaluma Boulevard, and she was detained until Novato police arrived, Lyons said.

Blake's arrest came one day after Teresa Gollihugh was arrested in the 400 block of Tomales Road in the rural Two Rock area of Sonoma County. The Marin Independent Journal reported that Blake is the mother of Gollihugh, who was recently discharged from the U.S Coast Guard.

Police said Gollihugh, 20, of Novato was dressed as a soldier but was in possession of a real handgun when she and Blake became involved in an altercation with a 46-year-old Novato man in the 2400 block of Center Road early Wednesday morning. Gollihugh and the man knew each other, police said.

Blake and Gollihugh face identical felony charges of burglary, robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, battery and conspiracy to commit a crime, according to the Marin County Jail booking log. Both face misdemeanor charges of exhibiting a firearm as well, and their bails were set at $100,000.

Following Blake's arrest detectives went to residences in Petaluma and Santa Rosa and recovered the handgun and stolen property, Novato police Lt. Keith Heiden said Friday.

"It's actually a very serious crime," Heiden said. "If these were three non-constumed people, we'd be treating this the same way. We do not get that many strong-armed home-invasion robberies in Novato."

When she was booked, Blake said she works in child care. It was unclear whether Blake was dressed as the fairy or if she was the third person involved in the incident.

An emergency call was received at 1:48 a.m. Wednesday near Center Road and Sutro Avenue regarding a man yelling for police, said acting Lt. Jennifer Welch. He was bleeding from a cut to the forehead and was taken to Novato Community Hospital by a medical crew from the Novato Fire District. Welch said the man received extensive sutures.

Upon the initial investigation, a woman went to the man's house dressed as a fairy and asked to use the phone. The woman dressed as a soldier and armed with a handgun then arrived and a struggle ensued, Welch said.

The man took away the gun but dropped it, according to the preliminary report. The two women beat the man with a metal lamp, a large coffee mug and bottles of alcohol, then called in a third woman to aid in the assault. That woman was later identified as to the mother of the woman dressed as a soldier, police said.

The investigations unit is continuing to follow up on leads, Welch said.

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