Woman doing yard work held at gunpoint, husband wakes to her screams, CA officials say

A man accused of holding a woman up at gunpoint and demanding the code to her safe is going to prison, California officials said.

David Averill and Thomas Griego attacked a 61-year-old woman and her 74-year-old husband at their Santa Rosa home in May 2023, according to an Aug. 28 news release from the Sonoma County District Attorney.

The woman was leaf blowing in her front yard when Averill approached her with a gun, officials said. The woman’s husband was sleeping inside.

When the woman fell, Averill “got on top of her and pinned her down,” officials said.

The woman started screaming but Averill threatened to shoot her and Griego helped zip-tie her hands and gag her mouth, officials said.

The woman’s husband woke up, saw Averill on top of his wife from his office window, and tried to make noise to distract Averill, prosecutors said.

That’s when Averill approached the man, tore the screen of the window and pointed the gun at him, officials said.

Griego and Averill fled the scene before footage later helped identify their car, officials said.

During the investigation, police learned Griego and Averill had been texting about “plans to use guns to pull off a large heist of cash,” prosecutors said.

The two were arrested and charged with kidnap to commit extortion, residential burglary, conspiracy, and assault with a firearm .

Averill was sentenced to a maximum term of 34-years-to-life in prison on Aug. 27, officials said.

Griego is scheduled to be sentenced in September, according to the release.

Santa Rosa is about a 50-mile drive northwest of San Francisco.

This story was originally published August 29, 2024 at 5:52 PM with the headline "Woman doing yard work held at gunpoint, husband wakes to her screams, CA officials say."