Crime, Fire & Courts

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...

Watsonville Police investigate a four-vehicle crash on South Green Valley Road Tuesday morning. Michelle Pulido, spokeswoman for Watsonville Police, said an unlicensed teen male was traveling southbound on Green Valley in a Ford F350 pickup around 10:30am when he plowed into a Ford F150...

A Hollister man was arrested Aug. 19 after months of investigation into a series of violent incidents earlier this year. Enrique Fuentes, 37, was charged with shooting into an occupied residence and gang enhancements. He was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail without bail, jail...

Monterey County Sheriff’s deputies on Sunday arrested a Pacific Grove man with a WWII-era machine gun described as a “weapon of mass destruction.” Brian Richard Knabb, 42, also had a loaded .45 caliber pistol and a loaded 1911 A-1 pistol, sheriff’s deputies said. In addition, he...

Editor's note: This story was updated on April 9 at 4pm with information about upcoming community meetings. The cities of Watsonville and Santa Cruz are opposing the proposed placement of a man deemed a sexually violent predator, and are urging residents to contact Santa Cruz...

A person died late Saturday night after being run over multiple times on Salinas Road near Lewis Road in Pajaro. The California Highway Patrol said that a pedestrian, who has not been named, was struck and killed around 11:37pm. Police radio traffic stated that...

First-responders work to remove a vehicle rollover that occurred at 3pm on Wednesday at 41st Avenue and Clares Street. According to Capitola Police, the male driver of a Hyundai Kona was traveling north on 41st Avenue near Clares Street when the driver of a Mercedes...

A Watsonville man was arrested Thursday after a car stop by the California Highway Patrol that led to the discovery of 14 firearms and drugs with a street value of over $15,000.  CHP officer Israel Murillo said officers pulled over a black Honda Sedan in...

A San Jose man died in a two-vehicle crash on Highway 17 early Sunday morning. The California Highway Patrol said an unknown person was driving a gray 2012 Nissan 370Z at an undetermined speed northbound on Hwy. 17, north of Santa’s Village Road at 5:20am.  For...