Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart will step down in December after 10 years on the job. Hart sat down with Lookout for a one-on-one conversation about his career, accomplishments, criticisms he’s faced and the state of law enforcement in Santa Cruz County in 2024.
Crime
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Judge denies request to move Adrian Gonzalez release trial out of Santa Cruz
Judge Denine Guy on Thursday denied a request for a change of venue for a jury trial that will decide whether to release Adrian “AJ” Gonzalez, who raped and murdered 8-year-old Madyson “Maddy” Middleton nine years ago, when he is set to age out of the California juvenile justice system on his 25th birthday in October.
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Police investigate shooting in Santa Cruz for the second time in days
Police responded Tuesday evening to the second Santa Cruz shooting in less than a week, which they say was possibly gang-related and left one victim in critical condition. The incident along the San Lorenzo River levee near downtown comes after two people were shot outside the Crow’s Nest restaurant last Thursday night. No arrest has been made in either case.
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Shooting prompts Santa Cruz Port District to cancel remaining Crow’s Nest beach parties
The Santa Cruz Port District is canceling the popular Thursday Night Beach BBQ series at the Crow’s Nest following a shooting outside the restaurant last week that injured two people.
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After shooting, Crow’s Nest Thursday beach parties will continue
A shooting that left two victims in critical condition occurred on Aug. 8 in the parking lot outside the Crow’s Nest following the Thursday Beach BBQ Party, a free recurring event series held on the beach in front of the Santa Cruz Harbor restaurant. The Crow’s Nest confirmed that the remaining three events planned for the season will continue through the end of the month.
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Two people shot outside crowded Crow’s Nest restaurant Thursday night
Santa Cruz police confirmed that two people were shot outside of the Crow’s Nest restaurant on Thursday night. Both remained in critical condition in hospital on Friday. Police are investigating a suspect and motive in the shooting and are encouraging witnesses to come forward.
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Before Santa Cruz infant’s death from possible fentanyl exposure, friends and family expressed worry
At a court appearance Wednesday for 38-year-old Korisa Woll, friends and family who know her and her recently deceased 18-month-old daughter – called “Baby Z” in court documents – say they had worried about the child’s safety for months before her death from possible fentanyl exposure. Woll has been charged with murder in her daughter’s death.
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Watsonville woman had stab wounds; death being investigated as homicide
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office has determined that Lizbeth Arceo Sedano, the Watsonville woman whose body was found along a hiking trail in the Rattlesnake Gulch area on Sunday, died from multiple stab wounds to her torso. It is investigating the death as a homicide while it continues to hold the father of her 3-year-old daughter.
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Scotts Valley police charge former teen counselor with attempting to meet minor for sex
Scotts Valley police investigators arrested a former Boys and Girls Club teen counselor during an undercover operation last week and charged him with contact of a minor with intent to commit sexual offense, human trafficking and annoying/molesting a victim under 18 years of age.
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Judge sends question of Adrian Gonzalez’s release to a jury trial
A jury will decide whether Adrian Gonzalez will be released this fall upon aging out of California’s juvenile justice system, after a Santa Cruz County Superior Court judge ruled Tuesday that prosecutors had shown probable cause for a trial over their argument that he still poses a danger to the public. Gonzalez, 24, has been held as a juvenile since raping and murdering his 8-year-old neighbor, Madyson “Maddy” Middleton, when he was 15 years old.