Tire Iron Used In Assault In Sonora

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Sonora, CA – A crowbar was used in an assault with a deadly weapon arrest in downtown Sonora.

A patrolling officer was flagged down by a man near the Subway Sandwiches restaurant at around 9:30 p.m. Sunday. The male victim reported that he had just been assaulted at a nearby intersection of South Washington Street and Hospital Road by a man named “Timothy” with a tire iron. The officer responded to the area and found 28-year-old Timothy Michael Barlass, a transient, in a tent at a transient camp.

During questioning, the victim told the officer that he had gone to the camp to see how Barlass was doing. The victim says that is when Barlass allegedly became agitated, started yelling, and exited the tent with a tire iron, striking the victim twice on the upper left side of his body.

Barlass told a different story. He recounted that he was inside his tent when a man entered without announcing himself, scaring him. Barlass says he told the man to leave, which he did, but then he hung around outside the tent. He claimed he then walked towards the man with a tool from a truck but only swung it at him two times, not admitting to actually hitting the man.

Barlass was arrested for felony assault with a deadly weapon and placed on a $40,000 bail.