Crime, Fire & Courts

CLOSE CALL Firefighters douse hot spots in a brush fire that erupted on the 300 block of Amesti Road Friday. An official from CalFire said the 3:20pm brush fire climbed to two acres before firefighters from Pajaro Valley Fire District, Watsonville and Central Fire...

This story has been updated with the victim's name and photo. Additionally, the victim is from Royal Oaks. The California Highway Patrol is asking for the public’s help in finding the driver of a pickup involved in a rollover crash Saturday in Las Lomas that...

A Prunedale man was arrested Nov. 26 on suspicion of a lengthy list of agriculture-related crimes including theft of a tractor. On Oct. 22, deputies from the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 300-block of Espinoza Road in Salinas following a report of an...

Santa Cruz County on Monday named Sandra Mendez as its next chief probation officer, selecting a veteran corrections administrator with more than 20 years of experience in community-based justice programs. Mendez will take over leadership of the county’s Probation Department on Feb. 2, county officials...

A man was arrested Thursday night on the 700 block of Palm Avenue on suspicion of attempted murder. With the help of SWAT officers Watsonville Police tracked down Francisco Aceves, 25, on suspicion of shooting a 42-year-old man at the Sofspra Car Wash on the...

A man was arrested Tuesday after he allegedly brandished an altered replica firearm in Watsonville. Eduardo Lopez, 32, was cited and released. Witnesses called police after they saw a man waving an assault rifle in the air near East Lake Avenue at Blackburn Street just after...

A Felton woman died early Saturday morning in a head-on crash on Highway 9 north of Felton.  The California Highway Patrol said the 80-year-old woman was driving a red 1967 Volkswagen Beetle northbound on Hwy 9 at an undetermined speed around 8:20am.  Meanwhile, a 24-year-old Santa...

A suspicious bag left leaning against a California Highway Patrol vehicle in Prunedale Monday—which prompted a response from the Monterey County Sheriff’s Bomb Squad and the brief detainment of the man who left it—turned out to be nothing more than a lost computer bag. According...

A Watsonville man suffered minor injuries Monday when he lost control of his Toyota Tundra pickup and rolled upside down on a hillside on Highway 1 in Watsonville. The California Highway Patrol said no other vehicles were involved. The man was entering southbound Highway...

After their truck stalled in this flooded section of Elkhorn Road Saturday these men wait for help. Scores of motorists were turned away at the intersection at Hidden Valley Road at mid day. Heavy rains have flooded area roads, including Paulsen Road and San...