The Weekly Dump 2.23.18

SCPD Responds to Bay View Boy Throwing a Temper Tantrum 

Tuesday afternoon around 2:30PM, SCPD responded to an unarmed 11 year old 5th grade child at Bay View Elementary School who was upset about something and having a temper tantrum. The child apparently was throwing papers, books and displays around the room before someone decided that the room needed to be evacuated and SCPD needed to intervene. Was the Bearcat deployed too? It took the school resource officer and another police officer about 15 minutes to calm the child down and secure the scene. The school was not placed on lockdown according to SCPD chief Andy Mills. Well thank God for that!

Santa Cruz City Schools Superintendent Kris Munro said the teacher and all other students left the classroom for their safety. Nobody was hurt. It was later revealed that the child in question was a known “special needs” child, and somehow the school and SCPD thought evacuating the room and a show of force was the answer to de-escalating a special needs child having a meltdown. Brilliant. Stick to law enforcement and leave social work to professionals there Chief.

“He threw a lot of things around the room. Evidently, he threw them outside the classroom as well as all over the school yard. There were papers, books and displays. Evidently, it was a pretty good mess.” according to Mills. A pretty good mess alright. What an overreaction. Did the child have a gun? No. A knife? No. Any type of weapon? Maybe he had a pencil he could have used to poke another kid with. But he sure made a mess throwing stuff around. SCPD was blasting out updates and warnings about this on Tuesday on social media, even having some kind of press conference on the steps at SCPD main station, which was even apparently live streamed on KSBW. That must have been a pretty good mess that 11 year old made. I’ll bet papers, books, and displays were thrown about everywhere. Good thing we have SCPD giving this the high priority treatment, while we have the walking dead everywhere in Santa Cruz, people drunk, high, suffering from mental illness, wandering aimlessly, sometimes half naked, sometimes aggressively attacking people verbally or physically, and where’s SCPD when that happens? Maybe a child is having another temper tantrum that needs their more immediate attention. We’ll read all about it on Twitter.

Watsonville Man Arrested in Capitola Facing Felony Rape Charges

Capitola police arrested a 42 year old Watsonville man last Thursday who will be arraigned in Santa Cruz County Superior Court this week on 20 felony charges, including lewd acts with a child, sexual battery and rape by force or fear, according to court documents. The suspect is accused of multiple crimes against one child several years ago, according to Capitola police. The attacks apparently happened in Capitola. The suspect was arraigned on Tuesday before Superior Court Judge Stephen Siegel. His bail was set at $1 million, but it was later reduced by the judge. Why was it reduced? Who knows. This is Santa Cruz! Nobody stays in jail for very long.

Santa Cruz Drunk Sends Baby to Trauma Center With Major Injuries

A four month old baby suffered major injuries after a drunk driver slammed into the back of a stopped Hyundai. The accident took place last Saturday on Highway 1 south of Larkin Valley Road in Aptos. Around 6:30 p.m. a Santa Clara family stopped their Hyundai Tucson on the shoulder of the freeway to attend to the needs of the four month old baby boy. Abel Jacobo of Santa Cruz was drunk and driving a Toyota Sienna when he veered off the highway and crashed into the Hyundai. The baby sustained major injuries as a result of the collision and was flown by air ambuilance to a neighboring trauma center according to CHP reports. Jacobo was arrested at the crash site and booked into the Santa Cruz County Jail for Felony DUI, Driving on a suspended license, and Violation of court DUI probation terms. What about attempted murder on that baby?

It Was a Hatchet Job

A jogger near Blue Ball Park in Soquel reported a suspicious man lurking near the park and called the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday to report him. A Deputy found the suspect riding his bike in the area, and after locating and stopping him, it was determined he had an outstanding warrant. He also had a hatchet hidden in his waistband, along with drug related items and a Costco card with a woman’s name on it. Deputies were able to track down the woman, and discovered her purse had been stolen about a week earlier in Santa Cruz. The man was was taken into custody.

Saturday Night’s Alright For Fighting

Saturday night around 11:45PM, I heard a report about a large brawl on the 100 block of Jewell Street near Ocean. This was reported by an Uber driver, who reported a male shoving a female around. I think by the time SCPD arrived, everyone took off.

Colt Brings Down the Hammer on Watsonville Drug Dealers

The Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Team served a search warrant looking for drugs on a home in the 100 block of 9th Street last Thursday. During the search detectives located a male suspect and other family members inside the home. With the assistance of Colt, the Sheriff’s Office narcotic dog, detectives located 9 pounds of methamphetamine and 1 pound of heroin while searching the home and inside the suspect’s car. The male suspect was booked into the Santa Cruz County Jail for the sales of methamphetamine and heroin and is being held on a bail of $100,000.

Aptos Woman Killed in Highway 17 Crash

Thursday afternoon around 4PM, a 64 year old woman from Aptos died after the Honda she was driving collided with a BMW before running off the shoulder of Highway 17 and hitting a fence before it crossed El Rancho Road where it collided with a tree, according to CHP reports. The 46 year old Union City man driving the BMW pulled to the shoulder and waited for CHP to arrive. The driver of the BMW was released at the scene. The Aptos woman was transported to Dominican Hospital where she died from her injuries. The cause of the crash is under investigation. CHP said it has not determined if drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash.

Brent Gets His Bike Back!

Apparently local homeless advocate Brent Adams left his bike unlocked in front of Book Shop Santa Cruz where it promptly got ripped off (well duh!). After telling some of the local squatters in Camp Coonerty about it, word must have gotten around through the obvious bike chop shop crowd and a week later, he gets a call from a downtown Ranger that his bike has been found. Who stole it? Someone in Camp Coonerty of course. Brent, bless his heart, blames himself for the theft but we all know why his bike was stolen. Because it could be. Because there really aren’t any repercussions for stealing a bike locally. Because the city is full of chop shops and stolen bike parts, fueling an underground economy that keeps those free, County provided needles full of meth and heroin. The circle of life (or death) of a local junkie. Sure, leaving it unlocked downtown is stupid and negligent. But some bum in Camp Coonerty stole it, and then sold it for a fix. Until local homeless advocates can actually recognize the blatant criminal element that exists within the local homeless community, a relatively small percentage that accounts for the majority of recidivist crime in Santa Cruz, we’ll never see any real progress made here. I’m not saying all homeless are bums. But the bums are hurting the homeless more than anyone else is.

Red, White, and Blue Turning Green

Santa Cruz’s Coastside Ranch, one of the last remaining privately owned ranches on California’s north coast, is for sale. The 175 acre property, once a former nudist camp, is on the market for $35 million. Since putting the land on the market this past summer, current owner Roland Edwards has apparently had a number of parties show interest in the property, including the nonprofit Land Trust of Santa Cruz County. The property features include a beach, farmland, Majors Creek (which is also a water supply creek for the city of Santa Cruz), old growth redwoods, and a large farmhouse, all of it on a pristine coastal bluff with unobstructed ocean views. It was the site of a nudist beach and campgrounds from 1970 until 2006. It is located between Wilder Ranch State Park and the Cotoni-Coast Dairies National Monument, and it offers direct access to the Red, White, and Blue Beach.

The Land Trust has made two offers on the ranch, including one reaching $18 million. Edwards doesn’t want to sell to the Land Trust because he apparently fears the organization lacks the ability to properly care for the property. He has made public assurances that he is not selling the land to developers wanting to create a “condo complex with ocean views”. He is apparently amendable to selling to a developer for an eco-friendly hotel or a buyer who will restore and make use of the farmland. Here’s an interesting option. Create something like they’re doing in Sand City near Monterey. Santa Cruz has a leading, world class research center in UCSC but we have no real conference center anywhere in the city. Build something like what Sand City is doing, or at least encourage this type of development through incentives with the buyer and seller. We could create our own version of Asilomar on the North Coast and make the entrance to Santa Cruz on Highway 1 from Davenport and destinations north a true gateway into the city. It could be a huge boon to the TOT baseline as well.

Hugh’s News

No city council meeting this week, but Hugh asked me to post this message as a follow-up to his last column. – BD

“I was approached by a friend last week that pointed out something to me. I was harsh and in judgment of some individuals that spoke out against the new city run River St Camp. One particular individual that spoke that night has worked for years being of service to the unhoused. He has traveled to cities, done extensive research and saved lives by offering the unhoused a warm place to sleep when it is cold. I was taken aback by the criticism of the city that is trying to get into solution around this issue but that is not a reason to go off the way I did. I was wrong.” –  HJ

USA Basketball Comes to Santa Cruz!

Former New York Knicks head coach and current ESPN NBA announcer (as well as current head coach of Team USA) Jeff Van Gundy and Team USA is inviting the community to be a part of this year’s Get Fit Time-Out Clinic, taking place this Saturday from 2-3PM at Kaiser Arena. Kids ages 7-13 can participate in fun basketball skills clinics and health stations. This event is free. Click here to sign up.

Expect Delays on Highway 17

A storm repair project on Highway 17 this weekend will close one southbound lane along Highway 17 between Summit Road and Glenwood Drive, starting Saturday night at 6PM and ending sometime on on Monday, weather permitting according, to Caltrans officials. Both northbound lanes will be open and unaffected. The CHP will be present to assist with traffic control. Motorists should expect delays of up to 30 minutes.

The Weekly Seen

“ILLEGAL camping will no longer BE ALLOWED after this date”. REALLY. We REALLY mean it this time. This is single handedly the dumbest “official” city communication I think I’ve ever seen. 

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12 Comments

  1. Your vitriolic report on the Bay View Elementary incident doesn’t help the credibility of “the Weekly Dump.”
    The response by both the school staff and PD was textbook perfect. I urge you to educate yourself and read the report “Threat Assessment in Public Schools” issued by last years Santa Cruz Grand Jury.
    School safety is important to me, and I aplaud the efforts throughout the county by school officials and law enforcement agencies to coordinate threat assessment in schools.
    Feel free to fire away at local officials and their crazy policies- but please leave school safety alone.
    For the first time I question my continued subscription to this news source. Makes me kinda sad.

    • I understand your point of view and respect your right to have it. I believe the school district and the SCPD badly mismanaged this episode. The family should not have allowed their home to be searched. Chief Mills should not have held a press conference. The child’s actions didn’t merit any of this absurd overkill. Very sad all around.

    • Really? Were you actually there? Did you witness all this? If the answer is “No” (and I know it is), my opinion is as valid as your opinion is on this. How was it “perfect”? What did you actually witness that was “perfect” here? Please enlighten me with your infinite wisdom. On second thought, don’t. I’ve heard enough from you already.

  2. Interesting.

    Last time Brent’s bike was stolen, he put out the word among his homeless compatriots. He got it back and gave the person $40.00 (all the money he had on him). Nice precedent, huh?!

    Also, as per my post of last week of Bernal’s letter, the city was NOT going to close the Benchlands down, because, “That’s not our goal…..”?!?!?!

  3. Ben,
    As a former Special Education teacher, I want to expand your awareness about the incident at Bay View Elementary. According to KSBW, the student targeted specific students and he had access to a firearm.
    You belittle SCPD for dealing with an 11 year old having a tantrum. I to assure you that this was absolutely necessary in this situation. It’s hard for those who have not been in the field of education to grasp that there are 11 year olds who are extremely violent. The psychiatric resources available are limited. I was relieved that this child was admitted to a treatment center. It took an incident like this to get this young boy the appropriate treatment. Our system is broken. As a society, we do not provide enough appropriate therapeutic services for mental health.
    The school shooter in the latest melee was expelled from school for violent behavior. He did not receive appropriate treatment for his substantial mental health issues.
    This 11 year old boy in Santa Cruz may be headed down a similar path. Let’s hope that he receives effective treatment and that he has the continued support to stay in compliance.
    I have faith that SCPD handled this situation with delicacy and respect. Please do not put them down for their response in this case!

    • Look, I know there’s a lot of very sensitive feelings both ways here. I have no stake in either side. I’ve heard from some VERY upset moms, some with special needs kids, who feel SCPD and the school completely blew it here. And I’ve heard way more of that opinion than the side that justifies the response. Again, I’ll ask you as I asked Joe. Were you actually there? Were you a witness to the event? If the answer is no, then you are speculating an opinion just like me and everyone else. And thanks, but I think my awareness is fine and needs no expansion here. As to the “access to a gun” rumor, there apparently was a legally owned gun at his home, which was secured and locked up. It’s not like he brought it in his lunchbox to school. As for targeted specific threats, that’s all hearsay unless I get an actual witness account. And even then, I wouldn’t take that out of the context of the moment, or what a special needs child might have been experiencing to set off such a reaction. And I ask, why are you conflating what happened recently in Florida with this incident? There’s absolutely no connection at all. I agree with you about a lack of mental health treatment options. It’s shameful. As for my criticism of SCPD, my point is the full blown PR media blitz about what turned out to be a non-story pissed me off, it sensationalized a special needs child and his family for the sake of publicity. That’s worthy of my criticism.

  4. “ILLEGAL camping will no longer
    BE ALLOWED after this date”.
    BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
    THAT is an Effin’ RIOT!
    ?????????
    ?⛺???⛺???

  5. A mainstreamed special needs student who was just admitted to a treatment center has disrupted this classroom before this incident, but not to this extent. Most likely the child would have been better served in a special needs class and not mainstreamed, and the other students would have learned more as well. I feel for all of these kids

  6. The leadership of SCPD made a choice – that is right – a choice – to blast this out as “BREAKING NEWS”. So I ask – even though they may have handled the incident – was it really necessary to expose this child and this family to the news and social media frenzy that came as a result? That is where I find fault.

  7. Austin Twohig

    Excellent work as always Ben. With all the things that happen in this town it’s incredible that a temper tantrum is what makes the news. There have been times in the past when I disagreed with your opinion but it never occurred to me to stop reading your weekly post. It’s the best and most honest news source available for the people of Santa Cruz.

  8. I wonder if the 11 year old at Bay View is the same 11 year old whose parent calls the police semi-regularly to come because the parent can’t handle the child. I’ve heard 3 incidents on the scanner over the past year where police were called on a 10 or 11 year old child by a parent.

  9. He was advised to file a report with SCPD.

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