Crime, Fire & Courts

A woman’s body recovered on Jan. 18 in the area of Smith Grade and Moore Ranch Road has been identified as 73-year-old Jeanne Burke, according to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.  Burke was last seen Nov. 18 at 4:30pm in the area of Moore...

Watsonville Police Chief David Rodriguez on Nov. 25 arrested an armed Watsonville gang member carrying a backpack with drugs and ammunition after a brief chase. Issac Sigala, 18, is facing several felony charges including illegally possessing a firearm, participation in a criminal street gang and...

Monterey County Sheriff’s deputies on Friday arrested a Pajaro man for the murder of Watsonville resident Jesús Alfonso Duarte Figueroa, whose body was found buried along the Pajaro River levee in April. Bernardino Rickie Sanchez, 61, was booked into Monterey County Jail in lieu of...

Capitola Police arrested a 17 year old male after they found a sawed-off shotgun in his car during a traffic stop. According to CPD, officers saw the juvenile driving a pickup on Capitola Road on a license that was suspended for prior hit-and-run crashes. During the...

Watsonville Police arrested a man on Jan. 28 for making a bomb threat to a local hospital.  WPD spokeswoman Erika Vazquez said WPD arrested 32-year-old Cody Burns on the 400 block of Hill Avenue after he reportedly “made a bomb threat targeting a local hospital.”  Officers...

An 86-year-old Fresno man was convicted on Aug. 26 for a double-murder committed more than three decades ago in Prunedale. According  to Monterey County Sheriff spokesman Andres Rosas, Ira Ulyesses Bastian murdered George Smith, 67, and Eva Thompson, 79 in a Prunedale restaurant on Nov....

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...