Crime, Fire & Courts

Watsonville police warned Wednesday that a mountain lion was seen behind 1075 Main Street heading toward Harkins Slough Road.  The department said that residents should remain alert, especially when walking in open or rural areas. Animal control and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife...

Local law agencies found a large stash of illegal firearms ammunition following a routine car stop. According to the California Highway Patrol, officers in April stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation in Santa Cruz County. The officers learned that the driver had a suspended...

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...

A man was arrested Tuesday for driving a stolen car to the Monterey County Superior Courthouse in Salinas, where he was scheduled to appear for a previous auto theft case. Ricardo Otero, 41, was charged with driving a stolen vehicle, committing a felony while on...

This story has been corrected from an earlier version. The chase did not go through Pajaro Middle School. A search for a wanted man with multiple outstanding warrants ended with his arrest after a chase that started in Pajaro and made its way into the...

Monterey County Sheriff’s Deputies arrested two subjects for conspiracy to commit a felony and being in possession of a stolen tractor.  One subject was also found to be a convicted felon in possession of methamphetamine and ammunition. On April 20 Sheriff’s Deputies got a report of...

A 70-year-old Watsonville woman suffered major injuries Sunday evening in a two-car crash on Highway 1 near Watsonville.  California Highway Patrol officer Israel Murillo said the woman was driving a silver 2017 Ford Fusion northbound on Highway 1 north of Mar Monte Avenue Sunday. At 5:52pm...

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...

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...

NEW STOP A new four-way stop is now in place at Tuttle Avenue and Lake Village Drive. Watsonville Police say the change will help slow traffic and make the intersection safer for everyone, whether driving, walking, or biking.