Lake County man arrested after Winters, Esparto crime spree

By Lauren Keene McNaughton Media A Lake County man was arrested Thursday following an afternoon crime spree in Winters and Esparto during which he allegedly stole several cars, burglarized homes and tried to carjack a teacher at Esparto High School. The Yolo County Sheriff’s Office gave the following account: The incident began at about 2:45 p.m. Thursday when a man, reportedly covered in blood, approached a subject at a Winters gas station. The bloodied man made a strange statement and drove away, prompting the citizen to become concerned and report her observations to law enforcement. The man’s appearance and behavior was so concerning a second witness from the same location also called in with the information. It was later determined that the vehicle the man was driving was just stolen from a residence on the 30000 block of The Horseshoe, just outside of Winters, where a residential burglary also occurred. Ten minutes after receiving the suspicious person reports in Winters, deputies were dispatched to a residence near the intersection of County Roads 23 and 86A where a resident was reporting a man had entered her home and was threatening her with a knife, demanding her car keys. Deputies later found the vehicle the suspect was driving in Winters in a ditch nearby this residence. The suspect was also found to have entered a total of three homes in this area, ultimately stealing another car from one of the properties. As deputies were arriving in the area they began receiving reports of an attempted carjacking outside of Esparto High School. The suspect was not successful and did not harm the victim of this incident, a teacher at the school. At about 3:25 p.m., deputies located the man near Esparto High, still driving the vehicle he stole from one of the properties near the location where he crashed the first vehicle. Deputies pursued the suspect through Esparto until he crashed in front of the Dollar General store at the intersection of Highway 16 and County Road 86A. The suspect ran into the store but was apprehended by deputies after a successful Taser application. It was determined the suspect tried to carjack another individual prior to the Esparto High attempt. This crime took place at the same store where he was ultimately apprehended. Roland Engels, 37, of Lake County, was treated for injuries he had on his body prior to law enforcement contact and booked into the Yolo County Jail. Engels was arrested for multiple counts of burglary, robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, vehicle theft, and attempted carjacking. Anyone with additional information about this case is urged to contact the Yolo County Sheriff’s Office at 530-668-5280 or 530-666-8282. Anonymous tips can be reported at 530-668-5248.]]>