Crime, Fire & Courts

The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a body that was found in an agricultural field near Highway 183 and McFadden Road in the unincorporated area of Salinas. At about 10:40am on Feb. 4, a citizen called to report that they had found a body.  Deputies...

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office has identified the body found on Its Beach May 9, just off the shoulder of Lighthouse Point on the west side of Santa Cruz, as Noah Lee Kim, 21, of Los Angeles. Kim and another man, both reported to...

A Watsonville man has been arrested on suspicion of causing a head-on DUI crash Sunday night near Salinas that left one man dead and five others hurt.  Miguel Soto Garcia, 29, was charged with felony DUI causing bodily injury, driving with a .08 alcohol level...

A Watsonville man was arrested on the night of Feb. 26 after he tried to outrun Watsonville Police during a traffic stop. When WPD made a traffic stop on East Lake Avenue, 31-year-old Jose Alberto Sanchez leapt from the car and fled on foot, WPD...

Highway 1 was shut down for four hours early Monday when a dump truck slammed into the Freedom Boulevard overcrossing to Highway 1 in Aptos.  The California Highway Patrol said the truck was traveling northbound on Highway 1 at an unspecified time. The truck’s bed...

A San Jose man was arrested in Capitola on Oct. 5 on suspicion of the murder of a woman in San Jose.  Venko Gospodinov was booked into the Santa Clara County Jail for murder.  On Sunday around 2:50am, San Jose Police responded to a residence in...

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 on Tuesday arrested a registered sex offender after he allegedly followed and inappropriately touched a 17-year-old girl. Kenneth Wilder, 31, has been charged with assault with intent to commit rape, stalking, annoying or molesting a minor and sexual battery.  As a registered sex offender,...

A 17-year-old male was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of murdering Marcelino Calixto Pastrana behind a Castroville market on June 26.  The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said a search is ongoing for a second juvenile suspect who they believe to be armed and dangerous. On July 16,...