Police Dealt With Four Separate Incidents Within An Hour
WATSONVILLE—The moral of this story is that if you are thinking about stealing a car in Watsonville, “DON’T” – because the Watsonville Police Department will likely catch you. The most recent incident occurred last Tuesday in the early morning hours, and police had all four juveniles arrested before most people had their first cup of coffee.
At 4 am, WPD officers were dispatched to the 800 block of Vista Montana to an attempted carjacking. The victim described the assailants as four males who fled the scene in a white 4-door Honda. Officers were unable to locate the suspects.
Then at 4:30 am, officers were dispatched to Hanger Way on a report of two masked men who were seen getting out of a white Honda and stealing a box style truck from the parking lot. Witnesses stated that two additional suspects stayed with the Honda and followed the stolen box truck as it fled the scene.
A few minutes later an observant WPD Sergeant located both the Honda and the stolen truck in the Corralitos area. The Sergeant tried to initiate a traffic stop on the stolen truck, but the driver failed to stop. He then led officers on a pursuit through Watsonville, then into Gilroy, and then back into Watsonville. Officers eventually disabled the truck with “Spike Strips”.
The truck finally came to a stop at the 200 block of Clifford Avenue. The suspect was captured after a short foot pursuit. Police also found a semi-automatic pistol that they believed was discarded by the suspect.
At about 5:30 am, a Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Deputy located a white Honda at the Amesti School at 25 Amesti Road. He discovered that the car had been stolen the day before. There were two suspects inside the Honda who were taken into custody. Ammunition found in the white Honda matched that found in the semi-automatic pistol that had been discarded by the suspect in the truck.
The four juvenile suspects, young men aged 14 to 17, were booked into Santa Cruz Juvenile Hall.
