Victim Was Robbed By Gunpoint
WATSONVILLE—Three armed suspects led Santa Cruz County Authorities on a high-speed chase down Highway 1 after they were spotting in a stolen car from a carjacking that occurred in Watsonville on Friday night.
The incident started about 8 p.m. on Friday night, when Watsonville Police responded to the area of Crestview Drive and Madison Street on a report of a carjacking.
When police arrived the victim informed them that three men armed with a handgun demanded that she hand over her money and her cellphone. One of the suspects demanded that she step out of the vehicle while another suspect pointed the gun at her.
The victim fearing for her life complied with the suspects and stepped outside the vehicle leaving her personal belongings in the car. The suspects got into the vehicle and drove away.
Watsonville Police enacted ‘Project Rope’ (Roadblock Observation Plan of Enforcement) countywide. An observant Santa Cruz County Deputy spotted the vehicle traveling on towards Santa Cruz on Highway 1.
Branciforte Avenue dead end, where the car crashed.
The suspects realized that they were being followed by Law Enforcement, and tried to get away before officers could preform an enforcement stop. A pursuit ensued and ended with the suspects fleeing from the vehicle after they crashed it into a parked car in Santa Cruz, on South Branciforte where the street dead-ends. A pathway there leads to Oceanview park, and the gated Oceanview condominiums.
A search of the area that involved several County Law Enforcement agencies was conducted. Two juvenile suspects were arrested after being found and identified by the victim.
The third suspect, 21-year-old Watsonville resident Earvin Vlade Medrano-Avalos, was arrested on Saturday near the search area. He was booked into the Santa Cruz County Jail on charges of carjacking, participating in a criminal street gang, evading police with disregard for public safety, probation violation, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. His bail was increased to $100,000.00 dollars.
Born in 1993 to parents who were no doubt fans of the LA Lakers, which included Earvin Magic Johnson and Vlade Divac, has been in trouble several times before, according to available records. In September 2011 he was arrested for possessing, selling or manufacturing a dangerous weapon, and in 2012 he was charged with DUI. In April of 2013 he was involved in an incident very similar to this most recent case, in that he was involved in an armed robbery that included two teenage minor boys.
According to the Santa Cruz Sentinel, Medrano-Avalos, then 19, and 21-year-old Albert Contreras participated in a masked armed robbery of a Watsonville Walgreens at 12:40 am Friday, April 12. Contreras was arrested after the initial chase, and with the help of a Taser. Medrano was traced to a home on Fuschia Drive, and arrested there after search warrants found him in possession of evidence from the crime. He was charged with conspiracy, street terrorism, and robbery.
