Crime, Fire & Courts

The Watsonville Police Department last week welcomed its newest officer. Beau Baugher began during his time as a Watsonville Police Cadet in 2011, where he first developed a strong connection to serving the community. Before joining, he worked as a paramedic with American Medical Response and...

A man was taken into custody after a shooting Saturday night near Riverside Drive and Marchant Street. Just before 7pm, Watsonville Police responded to reports of shots fired at the heavily traveled intersection. They learned the suspect, 49-year-old Sandro Vega, had been seen outside a...

Public defenders in Santa Cruz County will join colleagues across California and the nation April 23 in a coordinated protest highlighting what they describe as chronic underfunding and unmanageable caseloads that threaten defendants’ constitutional right to counsel. Chief Public Defender Heather Rogers is urging community...

A man was taken to a trauma center Friday night after he was shot in the head while driving along Freedom Boulevard. According to radio dispatches, the man was driving north on Freedom when a pickup with several people onboard pulled alongside his Toyota sedan...

A 15-year-old was arrested Wednesday on the 500 block of Rodriguez Street in connection with a Feb. 8 shooting. Watsonville police placed nearby Radcliff Elementary School on lockdown at about 11:50am as a preventative measure. The lockdown was lifted about 10 minutes later. The suspected 16-year-old...

A wanted suspect out of Santa Cruz County has been arrested after Watsonville Police, aided by their Flock camera system, found him driving a stolen car in Watsonville.    Officers on patrol were alerted that a stolen silver Toyota Avalon was in the area of the...

Two loaded firearms were taken off Watsonville streets in two separate incidents over the weekend. The first incident began during a routine traffic stop Friday night near downtown when Watsonville Police tried to stop a car driven by Juan Manuel Figueroa. Though he initially tried...

Editor's note: This story was updated at 10:50am on April 10 with new information. Watsonville officials said Friday that a proposed plan to house a designated sexually violent predator at a Main Street motel has been halted after the property owner withdrew, citing community opposition. The...

One of the victims from an attack at the Clock Tower in Santa Cruz on March 21 has died, Santa Cruz Police announced Wednesday. Justin Moore, 42, of Santa Cruz, suffered a stab wound during the attack. The suspect, Robert David Worel, 32, has been charged...

Watsonville Police respond to a three-vehicle crash Wednesday on Green Valley Road at Freedom Boulevard. Watsonville Police said that around 2:50pm a man driving a Honda Accord (right) southbound on Green Valley Road appeared to have lost control of his sedan and plowed into...