Crime, Fire & Courts

A 19-year-old Watsonville man has been arrested for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting an underage girl.  Christopher Medina Amezquita was arrested in Capitola with help from Capitola Police, the Santa Cruz County Anti-Crime Team and the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office. He was booked into Santa Cruz...

Watsonville firefighters battle flames erupting from a car in Pajaro Wednesday evening. Capt. Thomas Outzen of North Monterey County Fire said there were no apparent injuries, and that the gas tank appeared to have ruptured in the small sedan, leading to a stubborn and...

A Castroville man is facing kidnapping charges after he allegedly grabbed a 10-year-old girl who was walking home Friday. Salvador Hernandez-Saldivar, 61, was charged with kidnapping, assault with intent to commit a felony, child endangerment and annoying or molesting a minor under 18, Monterey County...

A crew from Cal Fire knocks down a fire that fully engulfed a travel trailer Tuesday in Watsonville. No injuries were reported in the 2:40pm incident in a field behind Orchard Park Market at the corner of East Lake Avenue and Holohan Road. An...

Monterey County Sheriff’s Deputies on Wednesday—with the help of a Belgian Malinois K9 officer named Rocket—arrested a Watsonville man after he was found with a large stash of illegal drugs. Rodrigo Roy Marquez, 45, was charged with possession of narcotics for sale, driving on a...

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...

An arrest has been made after a six-week investigation into the murder of a 34-year-old Watsonville man behind the Chipotle Restaurant on the 1300 block of Main Street. Watsonville Police said the 16-year-old suspect was taken into custody Saturday night in connection with the Oct....

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 California Highway Patrol is reminding the public to remember laws governing motorized bicycles after a child suffered minor injuries recently when two of the bikes collided on Soquel Drive near Capitola. Both riders were minors, the CHP said. The CHP defines a motorized bicycle as...

Watsonville Police have identified the suspect who was arrested Oct. 3 after he holed up inside a vacant home on Clifford Avenue.  Javier Diaz Baruc, 30, was charged with burglary, resisting arrest, and possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, along with multiple outstanding warrants for...