Crime, Fire & Courts

A routine traffic stop turned into a chase late Tuesday night that ended with the arrest of a 17-year-old suspected gang member and the recovery of a loaded gun, according to Watsonville Police. Around 11pm, a silver Honda Civic was stopped near West Sixth and...

At an upcoming meeting, the Watsonville City Council will consider renewing a contract with Atlanta, Ga.-based Flock Safety, which has installed 20 license plate reader cameras throughout the city. Watsonville signed a two-year contract with Flock in 2023 for $132,000. In the past six months, the...

A car shot off of northbound Green Valley Road at Doering Lane around 5:30am Tuesday and sheered a utility pole off at the base.  The car then careened across a sidewalk and through a wood fence before coming to a stop in an agricultural field.  California...

Skeletal remains found in 1995 off of Highway 129 near Aromas have been identified as 13-year-old Laura O’Malley from Queens, New York, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday. On March 22, 1995, partial skeletal remains were discovered in a riverbed off Highway 129...

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 body of a 15-year-old male who went missing July 23 in Watsonville in the Laken area off of Holohan Road was found in the waters of College Lake over the weekend. Nicholas Magana-Zamora was last seen around 11am on July 23 after leaving his...

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 Watsonville man was arrested Thursday after a car stop by the California Highway Patrol that led to the discovery of 14 firearms and drugs with a street value of over $15,000.  CHP officer Israel Murillo said officers pulled over a black Honda Sedan in...

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,...

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...