Arnold, CA…On May 24, 2024, at about 7:25 PM, deputies were dispatched to the 3000 block of Ponderosa Road in Arnold for a report of a physical altercation. Upon arrival, the deputy on scene was directed to the location of the suspect, Michael Kenneth Saunders, age 47, from Arnold. Suspect Saunders was detained without incident while the deputy initiated an investigation. During the investigation, the deputy learned that suspect Saunders was friends with the victim prior to this incident. The incident began with suspect Saunders entering his friend’s residence without an invitation through an unlocked front door. The victim objected to suspect Saunders entering the residence and conveyed his disapproval. Suspect Saunders became upset and subsequently punched the victim. Upon demand of the victim, suspect Saunders left the residence.

Suspect Saunders soon after returned to the residence armed with a rifle, finding the front door locked. Suspect Saunders kicked the front door approximately eight times, eventually breaking the front door off the hinges to enter the house. The suspect confronted a second victim in the living room of the home, demanding to know where the initial victim was located. The suspect eventually exited the residence after making several threats to cause great bodily harm to the second victim if they notified law enforcement. An additional witness corroborated the suspect forcibly entering the residence while armed with a rifle.

The Calaveras County Probation Office was contacted because the suspect was on active probation. In addition to felony vandalism, felony criminal threats, felony dissuading a witness, and felony burglary (entering an inhabited dwelling to commit a felony or theft), the suspect’s probation was also revoked. Suspect Saunders was placed under arrest, transported, and booked into the Calaveras County Jail without incident.