Crime, Fire & Courts

This story has been updated from a previous version. A woman escaped injury when her SUV smashed into a utility pole early Sunday morning on the 100 block of Airport Boulevard. The woman was traveling eastbound on Airport Boulevard at 7:55am approaching Freedom Boulevard when,...

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...

Construction work has begun on Main Street, between 5th Street and E. Lake Avenue, which will mean occasional closures, Watsonville officials said. Work will take place from 9am to 3pm, Sept. 2 through Oct. 3. Both northbound and southbound lanes of Main Street will have...

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...

Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni has begun an investigation into an officer-involved shooting on the Highway 101 northbound at Ralph Lane in Prunedale on March 15.  The California Highway Patrol was dispatched to a report of a solo vehicle collision with a guardrail on...

Watsonville Police rounded up nearly 1,000 pounds of illegal fireworks after they uncovered a group of people—including a teenager—suspected of selling dangerous fireworks in Watsonville and across Santa Cruz, San Benito, and Monterey counties.  Watsonville Police spokeswoman Michelle Pulido said an investigation led them to...

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office is looking for Danielle Staley, 35, who was last seen on Nov. 6, around 11:23pm near Rio Del Mar State Beach. New information indicates she may be at risk, and foul play may be involved, SCSO said. She is described...

A man living in a homeless encampment in the Arana Gulch area was arrested Tuesday after he was found with illegal drugs, cash, police scanners and a passel of high-end stolen bikes totaling more than $30,000. Joshua Morris, 35, was charged with grant theft, possession...

A Scotts Valley man died Sunday morning after his minivan plunged into the ocean from the Santa Cruz Wharf. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office identified the victim as William Westerman, 65.  Santa Cruz Police said Westerman was driving a white Toyota Sienna minivan with his...