Crime, Fire & Courts

The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a body that was found along the Pajaro River levee west of the Main Street Bridge that connects the community of Pajaro to Watsonville. On Monday the Sheriff's Office identified the man as 36-year-old Jesus Alfonso Duarte Figueroa...

An 86-year-old Fresno man was convicted on Aug. 26 for a double-murder committed more than three decades ago in Prunedale. According  to Monterey County Sheriff spokesman Andres Rosas, Ira Ulyesses Bastian murdered George Smith, 67, and Eva Thompson, 79 in a Prunedale restaurant on Nov....

The City of Watsonville on Thursday announced that Police Chief Jorge Zamora is retiring, with his last day set for Aug. 30. The retirement will end a law enforcement career of more than three decades. Zamora began as a police cadet when he was 15, and...

MEDICAL EMERGENCY Watsonville firefighters deal with a solo-vehicle rollover on Thursday, where an SUV barrel-rolled down a hillside on Main Street. Watsonville City spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said a man driving a Mazda SUV appears to have had a medical  emergency while driving past the...

A man was arrested Dec. 4 after Monterey County Sheriff's deputies found drugs, cash and a loaded gun in a vehicle. Around 3:15pm, detectives with the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Greenfield Police Department and a K9 officer, served a search warrant...

The Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office filed charges against a registered sex offender who recently exposed himself to a woman in Watsonville. James Dineen, 27, is accused of exposing himself to a woman walking near Center Street while parked in his gray Toyota Camry,...

A 61-year-old man and a 59-year-old woman, both of Hayward, died in a motorcycle crash on Highway 9 near Boulder Creek Saturday. The California Highway Patrol said an 18-year-old female from San Jose was driving a white 2018 Tesla Model 3 north on Hwy. 9...

The public is invited to National Night Out, a series of gatherings held in communities throughout Santa Cruz County on Aug. 5 from 3-7pm. National Night Out Against Crime is a chance for people to meet the police officers, firefighters and first-responders who help them...

A 51-year-old male bicyclist died early Tuesday morning in a hit-and-run crash at the intersection of South Green Valley Road and Carey Avenue.  Watsonville Police said the bicyclist, who has not been identified, died at the hospital Wednesday night. The crash happened shortly after 6am. The...

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...