After neighbors objected, Michael Cheek, set to be released from a state hospital decades after being convicted of the rape of two young women, won’t be placed in an Aptos home.
Crime
Posted inLatest News
22 charged with retail cannabis thefts that hit Santa Cruz County
A crime ring that had the local cannabis industry on edge has been arrested, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced in a news conference Thursday in Santa Cruz County. The group was responsible for more than $1 million in stolen product from cannabis businesses since August 2023.
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Adrian Gonzalez’s trial delayed; new counsel to be appointed
Adrian Gonzalez’s trial has been delayed into September as new counsel is set to be appointed, a Santa Cruz County Superior Court judge announced Monday. Jury selection in the case, which began last week, will have to start over from scratch. The trial will decide whether Gonzalez, who was convicted of the 2015 rape and murder of Madyson “Maddy” Middleton, will be released from state custody when he ages out of California’s juvenile justice system on his 25th birthday in October.
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As Adrian Gonzalez’s release goes before a jury, attorneys question whether he can get a fair trial
Jury selection began this week for Adrian Gonzalez’s upcoming trial as he seeks release upon aging out of the state’s juvenile justice system this fall, nine years after raping and murdering 8-year-old Madyson “Maddy” Middleton. While Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Denine Guy denied a request for a venue change last week, the harrowing details of the case remain a focal point for the community. Given that, can Gonzalez get a fair trial? Longtime defense attorneys aren’t so sure.
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Santa Cruz police without suspects in Crow’s Nest, San Lorenzo River levee shootings
Two shootings less than a week apart, including one outside a popular Thursday night event at the Crow’s Nest restaurant, remain under investigation by the Santa Cruz Police Department. The three victims across the two cases remain in stable condition, but no suspects have been identified in either case.
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Newsom signs new retail theft laws as voters weigh even tougher penalties
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed bills Friday that aim to make it easier to prosecute retail theft. He’s asking California voters to reject a November ballot measure that would impose even tougher penalties.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Departing Sheriff Jim Hart defiant over grand jury criticism and a non-elected successor, says worst of fentanyl crisis yet to come
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.
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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.
