Monterey County Sheriff’s Office detectives have arrested Joshua Timothy Holtzclaw for voluntary manslaughter after his fight with a local fisherman left the other man, Aptos resident Trenten Paul Black, dead.
Around 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Monterey County deputies and California State Parks officers received reports of two boats colliding in the Moss Landing harbor. Witnesses reported that after the collision, Black, the operator of one boat, climbed onto Holtzclaw’s vessel and the two began fighting.
Black, 26, fell into the water and did not reappear as Holtzclaw, 29, assaulted him with a stick, witnesses say. A passing vessel attempted a rescue by tossing Black a life preserver, but it was unsuccessful.
Holtzclaw exited the water in his boat and was detained and questioned by deputies. After interviewing Holtzclaw and multiple independent witnesses, deputies arrested and booked him into Monterey County Jail on one count of voluntary manslaughter. His bail is set at $200,000.
A sheriff’s dive team used a sonar device to recover Black’s body from the water around 1:20 p.m. that day.
Anyone with information related to this investigation can contact Detective Josue Ramirez with the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office at 831-253-6068, with the option of anonymity.
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