Crime, Fire & Courts

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.

This story has been updated with the victim's name and photo. Additionally, the victim is from Royal Oaks. The California Highway Patrol is asking for the public’s help in finding the driver of a pickup involved in a rollover crash Saturday in Las Lomas that...

A Watsonville man was sentenced to 25 years and 8 months in state prison for human trafficking, sexual assault and drug crimes, Santa Cruz County District Attorney, Jeffrey Rosell announced Monday. Luis Alberto Salas pleaded no contest on Aug. 29 to multiple counts of human...

A Prunedale man was arrested Nov. 26 on suspicion of a lengthy list of agriculture-related crimes including theft of a tractor. On Oct. 22, deputies from the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office responded to the 300-block of Espinoza Road in Salinas following a report of an...

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...

The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office has arrested 29-year-old Joshua Timothy Holtzclaw for voluntary manslaughter after the Sheriff’s Dive Team recovered a man’s body in Moss Landing Harbor Wednesday following a fight aboard a boat.  The body was identified as 26-year-old Trenten Paul Black of Aptos,...

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 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...

Dozens of law enforcement and emergency first responders gathered in the Watsonville City Council Chambers Wednesday for a promotional and award ceremony honoring Watsonville police and employees, and a county prosecutor. “The nature of our work requires us to be efficient, moving from call to...

A man was arrested Thursday night on the 700 block of Palm Avenue on suspicion of attempted murder. With the help of SWAT officers Watsonville Police tracked down Francisco Aceves, 25, on suspicion of shooting a 42-year-old man at the Sofspra Car Wash on the...