Crime, Fire & Courts

Three people were injured Tuesday morning when a fire broke out at a mobile home in the Portola Heights Mobile Home park on Freedom Boulevard. The fire erupted at 7:15am in unit 25 on Cresti Way. One neighbor who used the name Erika said she ran...

The Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office filed charges against a registered sex offender who recently exposed himself to a woman in Watsonville. James Dineen, 27, is accused of exposing himself to a woman walking near Center Street while parked in his gray Toyota Camry,...

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...

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...

This story has been updated from a previous version with additional information. Watsonville Police on Friday afternoon arrested a Watsonville woman who allegedly robbed the Bay Federal Credit Union on the 1400 block of Main Street. Elizabeth Rojas, 34, was charged with robbery and attempted robbery....

A 42-year-old Castroville man has been arrested on suspicion of human trafficking, attempted murder and multiple other felony charges following an investigation that began with a reported assault outside a local shopping center, according to the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office. Eric Adam Melendrez was taken...

A man was swept from the rocky shoreline at Soberanes Point at Garrapata State Park Saturday and is reportedly still missing. The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said two women and one man were swept to the sea by a huge wave around 3pm Saturday. While...

An at-risk 12-year-old girl who went missing early on the morning of July 6 has been found and is safe. Watsonville Police spokeswoman Erika Vazquez said Santa Cruz Police located her on July 7. Willowwind Crowbear was last seen Monday morning around 1:45am on the...

A Watsonville man suffered minor injuries Monday when he lost control of his Toyota Tundra pickup and rolled upside down on a hillside on Highway 1 in Watsonville. The California Highway Patrol said no other vehicles were involved. The man was entering southbound Highway...