Police shut down a swath of downtown Santa Cruz Saturday after a man fatally fell from a window at the Palomar Inn onto a busy Pacific Avenue. The death remains under investigation.
Crime
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Two men killed in Watsonville shooting
Two 21-year-old men from Santa Cruz County died from gunshot wounds early Friday morning on the 700 block of Carlton Road just outside Watsonville.
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Santa Cruz police charge two with vehicle theft, string of burglaries
The Santa Cruz Police Department (SCPD) has arrested two people and charged them with stealing a vehicle and carrying out a string of commercial burglaries in Santa Cruz in September. Police say they identified the two suspects, Gerardo Menchaca and Michelle Grieb, both 38, through surveillance video when they responded to a Sept. 28 report of vehicle theft on Riverside Avenue in Santa Cruz.
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Second suspect in Crow’s Nest shooting surrenders to Santa Cruz police
27-year-old Jakaella Porter turned herself in to local law enforcement on Monday in connection with a shooting outside of the Crow’s Nest restaurant in Santa Cruz in August. She faces three counts of felony accessory after the fact.
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Police: Watsonville man offered drugs for sex to minors online
Multiple Santa Cruz County law enforcement agencies are investigating a Watsonville man on child sex and drug charges — with several of the agencies saying they have identified multiple victims, but not offering a specific number. Police have interviewed “numerous” people who came in contact with Luis Alberto Salas, accused of reaching out to minors on Snapchat with offers of drugs in exchange for sex. In the wake of his arrest, public school officials across the county are reaching out to parents with a warning about social media use and online predators and resources in case they have a child who might have come in contact with him.
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Parents warned after man charged with sex assault of minors he met on social media
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning Monday for local guardians and parents of minors to be aware of the dangers of social media after they arrested a 35-year-old Watsonville resident earlier this month on charges related to the sex assault of minors.
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Man arrested, woman sought in Crow’s Nest shooting
The Santa Cruz Police Department, in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, has made an arrest in the shooting outside of the Crow’s Nest restaurant in early August. After about a monthlong investigation, officers arrested 27-year-old Moses Dollar in Los Angeles and charged him with attempted homicide.
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As Theo Lengyel murder trial enters third week, witnesses recall an explosive personality who refused help
In the first two weeks of the murder trial in the death of Capitola’s Alice “Alix” Herrmann, prosecutors have called a parade of character witnesses who have described defendant Theo Lengyel as a combative person prone to alcohol-fueled rages. Lengyel’s defense has aimed to undermine the credibility of these accounts and has argued that Herrmann’s death was not first-degree murder.
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Santa Cruz City Council will study grand jury reports on handling of rape, housing
The Santa Cruz City Council has deferred its response to two recent grand jury investigations criticizing the city’s handling of rape cases and affordable housing. Though Mayor Fred Keeley initially disagreed with many of the findings, the council decided to form a subcommittee to provide a more comprehensive response.
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Ex-wife alleges pattern of abuse in Theo Lengyel murder trial
The ex-wife of Theo Lengyel, accused of killing girlfriend and Capitola resident Alice Herrmann in December 2023, told jurors in his murder trial on Tuesday that he was controlling and violent over the course of their 17-year marriage.