Three Firearms Seized by Watsonville Police Officers in Less Than 12 Hours

“In a span of less than 12 hours, Watsonville Police Officers took three guns off our streets after responding to several major incidents.

We’ll start with a wrong-way driver who was pulled over on E. Fifth and Madison Streets Tuesday morning. After the driver agreed to a vehicle search, our Officers found a loaded stolen gun hidden under the front passenger seat. The passenger, 31-year-old Rudy Garcia-Perez, an Indiana state resident and convicted felon, admitted to having the gun. He was arrested for carrying a loaded stolen gun and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Case # 23W-04452.

A couple of hours later, on an unrelated case, Officers responded to a shooting near Bridge and Secoya Streets. The victim was driving when his car was shot at by a passenger in another moving vehicle. A witness pointed Officers toward the 700 block of Bronte Avenue, where all three suspects ran towards the levee. Two suspects, Jiovanni Bueno, 26, and Mark Campos, 28, were identified by a witness, arrested, and booked into the county jail. Detectives continue investigating to identify and locate the third suspect. The gun believed to have been used in the shooting was located with the help of a Capitola Police Department K-9 and the Santa Cruz County Anti-Crime Team. Anyone with information on this case is asked to call Detective Robert Strong at 831-768-3355. Case # 23W-04453.

Before the end of the night, Officers responded to a separate incident on the 100 block of Rodriguez Street involving the brandishing of a gun. The victim told Officers that 21-year-old Jesus Franco had pointed a gun at him following a brief argument. Franco was later found and arrested on Lincoln Street. Inside his car, Officers found a loaded gun. Franco was booked into the Santa Cruz County Jail for charges of criminal threats and brandishing a gun. Case # 23W-04456.”