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Killer was kicked out of posh hotel hours before home invasion, cops say

The image shows a charming estate with several yellow buildings surrounding a central swimming pool, nestled in lush greenery.
Sonoma County sheriff’s deputies arrested a man as a murder suspect hours after questioning him for harassing an employee at the five-star Farmhouse Inn. | Source: Farmhouse Inn

A Fairfield man was arrested in a killing at a Sonoma County home hours after deputies released him Saturday following a disturbance at a five-star hotel.

Adrian Yanez, 44, is being held without bail in a county jail on murder and burglary charges for allegedly breaking into a Valley Ford home and killing an occupant with a baseball bat while a relative of the victim hid in the house.

The killing took place on rural Carroll Road, where law enforcement officers had gone to investigate calls from a relative of the victim that a man was screaming outside their home.

According to a Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office statement first posted Sunday, Yanez allegedly broke down the door and killed one person with the bat while another safely hid.

The victim was identified as Michael Molland, who was at least 70 years old, the Press Democrat reported.

Deputies arrested Yanez and recovered the baseball bat. Detectives are investigating the motive for the attack.

“We would like to extend our sincerest condolences to the victim’s family during this extremely difficult time,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.

The sheriff’s office updated its account Tuesday to reveal that Yanez had been investigated and released for a disturbance he caused in Forestville hours before the slaying.

Deputies first encountered Yanez around 11:30 a.m. Saturday, when a caller said he had made them uncomfortable at a property in Forestville, about 15 miles from Valley Ford. According to the Sebastopol Times, the call came from the five-star Farmhouse Inn, where Yanez allegedly sexually harassed a hotel employee.

An anonymous source told the Times that Yanez had been a guest at the hotel Friday night and stood out by wearing a construction worker’s vest and dirty boots and noisily dancing and pacing.

Yanez also exhibited bizarre and antisocial behavior on multiple occasions during his stay before he allegedly carried out the murder, the Times reported Wednesday, citing anonymous sources.

Early Friday, Yanez allegedly told a hotel spa therapist after booking a massage, “I just need to get undressed and get your womanly hands on my lower back,” which made her uncomfortable, the source said. Right before, when spa staff had asked him his gender preference for a massage therapist, Yanez allegedly said, “woman obviously, and the one with the softest hands.”

At 2 p.m. Friday, after Yanez was supposed to have checked out, a staffer knocked on his door, and Yanez answered, covered in sweat and completely naked, although he hid his body behind the door, the source said. After a brief, awkward exchange, Yanez wordlessly dropped two soiled rags and closed the door.

On Saturday, Yanez allegedly told a hotel waitress to sit next to him as he waited for breakfast. When she did, Yanez began scratching her back and she stood up, a source told the Times. When the waitress got up, Yanez allegedly grabbed her wrist and forced her to sit back down. The waitress informed other hotel staff, who then contacted law enforcement.

“Yanez was acting strangely but not violently. Yanez was released when deputies no longer had the legal authority to detain him,” the sheriff’s office said, adding that he was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs and did not meet the criteria to be held for a mental health evaluation. “Yanez was told he was no longer welcome on the property and would be arrested if he returned.”

Yanez was released from custody at 1:28 p.m. and allegedly committed the murder less than two hours later.

Yanez is scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 25, the Press Democrat said.

George Kelly can be reached at gkelly@sfstandard.com