Crime, Fire & Courts

Two people were hospitalized after reports of a stabbing at the Clock Tower in Santa Cruz at around noon on Saturday, according to Santa Cruz police. One suspect was arrested in connection with the incident.  Witnesses at the scene say the incident began after a...

A Watsonville man was arrested Tuesday after he was found in a hotel with a 15-year-old girl who had been reported missing out of Fresno. Darwin Linares, 24, was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail on charges of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. He was...

A Watsonville firefighter cleans up at the scene of a two-vehicle crash Tuesday afternoon on Center Street in Watsonville. Watsonville police said the female driver of an Infiniti G 35 was travelling eastbound on Center Street just east of Beck Street around 2:45 pm...

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 fire late Wednesday morning in Watsonville destroyed two vehicles in the area of Brennan Street and Freedom Boulevard. Firefighters reported no injuries. The blaze erupted at about 10:15am in a 2024 Tesla and a Ford F150 van that were parked next to each other. Witnesses...

Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies and Pajaro Valley Unified School District officials are investigating after a bag containing a firearm and ammunition was found at Aptos High School. A mask was also found nearby, PVUSD spokesman Alejandro Chavez said in a press release. PVUSD has notified...

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 late-night fire destroyed a truck at the Restore, a thrift shop in downtown Watsonville run by Habitat for Humanity Monterey Bay.  Firefighters responded to reports of a vehicle fire at 555 Main St. at 11:15pm and found a Ford F550 pickup fully engulfed in...