WATSONVILLE — A high-speed chase and a vehicle crash drew a strong response from multiple law agencies early Saturday morning in the eastern section of rural Watsonville.
Sgt. Brian Cleveland of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said the incident started with an interrupted burglary somewhere around 3 a.m. on the 1300 block of Green Valley Road. A male driving a pickup reportedly tried to evade police from the scene of what some police reports claimed to be a marijuana growing operation.
As the man sped south on Green Valley Road, police managed to get behind the vehicle. The truck ended up crashing somewhere in Mesa Village near Ponderosa and Hathaway avenues. The man reportedly fled on foot and charged off to what police think was his nearby home.
The California Highway Patrol, the Sheriff’s Office and Watsonville Police teamed up in the pursuit and in establishing a perimeter around the crash site.
On Monday evening just after 9 p.m. police took Timothy Ruelas, 30, into custody and charged him with second-degree burglary, assault with a deadly weapon and evading police.
