Sonoma County Man Convicted of Attempted Murder of Police Officer Denied Parole

District Attorney Jill Ravitch has announced that defendant Charles Edgar Thomas, 75-year-old from Cloverdale, was found unsuitable for parole release by the Board of Parole Hearings today.  

Mr. Thomas was convicted of First Degree Attempted Murder for shooting at then Santa Rosa Police Officer Lance Badger on February 8, 1989. Officer Badger had pulled Mr. Thomas over for a routine traffic stop when he received information that Thomas was a parolee at large. As Officer Badger approached Thomas to pat search him, Thomas pulled a semi-automatic pistol from his waistband and opened fire. Thomas shot at the officer six times but missed; Officer Badger returned fire causing injury to Mr. Thomas’s hand. Mr. Thomas fled through backyards, shooting a dog along the way, before breaking into the home of a Santa Rosa couple. There he remained for several hours, dressed his wound, shaved his facial hair and stole two loaded handguns. He fled from the home when the owners returned and was apprehended soon thereafter.  

Mr. Thomas was convicted at trial and sentenced to life in prison. He will remain in prison for at least three more years as the California Board of Parole Hearings continued to find Mr. Thomas unsuitable for release on parole. Lance Badger has since retired from the Santa Rosa Police Department and currently works for the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office assisting with courthouse security.