WATSONVILLE — Watsonville Police on Wednesday arrested a woman for an alleged 40-minute crime and vandalism spree that included breaking religious statues in two stores, toppling a 15-foot crucifix in a church and stealing roses and a soda.
Jackeline Chavira, 23, was charged with vandalism and burglary. She was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail, jail records showed.
According to the Watsonville Police Department, Chavira caused an estimated $15,000 in damage.
Chavira walked into a store on the 1400 block of Main Street at 11:40 a.m., when she stole roses, police said. At 12 p.m., she walked into a store on the 1200 block on Main Street where she stole a religious statue and then purposefully dropped it, causing it to break, the WPD said.
Chavira
Three minutes later, Chavira reportedly stole a soda from a bakery on the 1200 block of Main Street.
She then walked into St. Patrick’s Church on the 700 block of Main Street and caused thousands of dollars in damage. This included pushing over a 15-foot crucifix, throwing a statue of Jesus onto the ground and tearing down two large pieces of art, police said.
Chavira then entered a store on the 400 block of Main Street, where she reportedly tried to steal a religious statue before throwing it on the ground, causing it to break.
She was arrested at about 2:10 p.m. when a witness spotted Chavira near West Beach and Rodriguez streets.
Some of Chavira’s activities were captured on video surveillance, police said.
