Crime, Fire & Courts

Following the March 18 arrest of a 24-year-old Watsonville man for unlawful sexual intercourse with an underage girl, investigators have now added more charges that have expanded across state lines. Darwin Linares was initially arrested by Watsonville Police in March after he was found in...

Watsonville residents will have two opportunities this month to help shape the future of public safety services in the city. The Watsonville Police and Fire departments are hosting community town hall meetings to gather public input on priorities for emergency response, public safety services and...

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...

Construction work has begun on Main Street, between 5th Street and E. Lake Avenue, which will mean occasional closures, Watsonville officials said. Work will take place from 9am to 3pm, Sept. 2 through Oct. 3. Both northbound and southbound lanes of Main Street will have...

Watsonville Police have identified the suspect who was arrested Oct. 3 after he holed up inside a vacant home on Clifford Avenue.  Javier Diaz Baruc, 30, was charged with burglary, resisting arrest, and possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia, along with multiple outstanding warrants for...

Highway 1 was shut down for four hours early Monday when a dump truck slammed into the Freedom Boulevard overcrossing to Highway 1 in Aptos.  The California Highway Patrol said the truck was traveling northbound on Highway 1 at an unspecified time. The truck’s bed...

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...

A 23-year-old motorcyclist died Sept. 23 morning following a collision with a pickup on Corralitos Road, the California Highway Patrol said. CHP officers responded at about 7:01am to the intersection of Corralitos and Merk roads. According to CHP, a 61-year-old Watsonville man was driving a white...

A San Jose man died in a two-vehicle crash on Highway 17 early Sunday morning. The California Highway Patrol said an unknown person was driving a gray 2012 Nissan 370Z at an undetermined speed northbound on Hwy. 17, north of Santa’s Village Road at 5:20am.  For...