A man who held police at bay while armed with a knife was arrested late at night on Sept. 4 outside a Herman Avenue home in Watsonville.
At around 8:40pm, Watsonville Police officers responded to the 300 block of Herman Avenue following reports of a man armed with a knife slashing tires to parked vehicles, Watsonville Police spokeswoman Michelle Pulido.
The man, identified as 37-year-old Edgar Arias Cruz, had prior arrests for obstructing officers and assaulting officers with deadly weapons.
It was also reported that he was possibly under the influence of drugs.
A member of WPD’s newly formed Drone Unit launched a drone and managed to get a clearer view of the suspect, who was still armed with a knife in the driveway of a home.
“For almost three hours, our crisis negotiators attempted to convince Cruz to drop the knife,” Pulido said. “But suddenly, the suspect ran towards a home and threw his knife at one of our officers. He was then Tased and arrested.
Cruz charged with felony vandalism, assault with a deadly weapon, resisting arrest and possession of a controlled substance.
He was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail, jail records showed.
Officers found nearly two grams of methamphetamine on him and recovered a 13-inch kitchen knife.
Polce believe that Cruz caused an estimated $2,500 to parked vehicles in the area.
The Santa Cruz Police Department’s Drone Team also responded to assist WPD. Residents in the area were issued a shelter-in-place order.
WPD also had to shut down sections of Holm Road during the incident, which is still under investigation.
