The Weekly Dump 6.14.19

Argument Leads to Shooting Near Summit of Highway 17

Tuesday night around 10PM, a man was shot and injured after an argument in a park and ride lot off Highway 17, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies were flagged down by a person in the area of Summit Drive and Highway 17 in unincorporated Los Gatos after someone reportedly heard two people arguing outside of their vehicles on Summit Road, followed by what sounded like a gunshot. The 33 year old male victim was shot in his right ankle and drove himself to a nearby family member’s home,  where he was then taken to a nearby hospital. The suspect was last seen driving a silver colored Cadillac CTS traveling south on Highway 17 towards Santa Cruz.

Home Invasion and Robbery in Ben Lomond

Wednesday afternoon around 1:30PM, two men invaded and robbed a home near Hihn Road and Bahr Drive in Ben Lomond. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office said when deputies arrived, they saw two suspects running from the house on foot. Inside the home, they found two victims who were robbed and tied up. Deputies established a perimeter with the help of several other law enforcement agencies and began searching for the suspects while a shelter in place notification was sent out to residents in the area. K9 units from the Santa Cruz Police Department, Scotts Valley Police Department and the sheriff’s department were deployed and were able to locate the suspects and some potential evidence. Two men from Texas were arrested. Apparently, they were trying to rip off the victims of a large amount of processed cannabis at gunpoint after meeting them for a buy.  Both men are charged with robbery, kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon and conspiracy.

Vehicle Hits Bicyclist on Capitola Road

Thursday around 4:30PM, a vehicle hit a bicyclist on Capitola road between Shirley avenue and 30th avenue. When Capitola PD arrived, they determined the victim was unconscious and not responding. The driver did stop and remained at the scene. The victim was flown by life flight to a trauma center over the hill. I heard unconfirmed reports the victim died.

Vehicle Hits Bicyclist on Laurel Street

Thursday around 5PM, a vehicle hit a bicyclist near the intersection of Walti and Laurel streets in Santa Cruz. SCPD responded with fire and medical. The victim was reported to have a leg injury but I don’t know their condition. The driver did stop and cooperated with authorities.

Board of Supervisors Discuss Reforms to Syringe Services Program

This Tuesday, I attended the Board of Supervisors meeting where they discussed their biennial report on the Syringe Services Program (don’t call it a needle Exchange!). I usually don’t go to these meetings, but I went to support my friends who were planning to speak to them about needles. These meetings are much better run the city council meetings, and are void of the cast of misfits and fake drama we see at city council meetings. As I say, we get what we are willing to tolerate, and the Board of Supervisors don’t tolerate nonsense at their meetings. The recommendations by the county are for the Health Services Agency, which runs the program, to expand the program’s hours from 10 to 20 a week at the Emeline Campus and Watsonville Health Center as staffing resources become available. They also discussed as part of a 90 day pilot program marking syringes to determine how many needles from the county are contributing to the rampant needle waste problem we see locally. They are also asking other cities in the county to install more needle collection kiosks. After three months, the Health Services Agency will go back before the Board of Supervisors on September 24th to discuss their findings. The total cost of the program from March 2017 through February 2019 was almost $225,000. The next annual expenditure is estimated to be $240,000. They say the increase would be because of increased staff time, increased distribution and increased collection efforts.

Consultant Confirms City Council Meetings are a Dumpster Fire

At this Tuesday’s city council meeting, easily the best part of the meeting involved a paid consultant the city hired to explore the viability of a possible rental housing task force. Basically, he came back to them and said “don’t do it, it will just result in failure” because the city council, and their meetings, are a dysfunctional dumpster fire of polarized opinions. And as a result of his “vibrantly honest” opinion and findings, the city council cut $250,000 from their budget that was allocated to fund a “rental housing task force” that would ultimately be so polarized that nothing would get accomplished. Now that’s how you save a quarter of a million dollars. With common sense! What a concept! Put that money towards funding First Alarm on Upper Ocean.

Just a Tourist Visiting From Turlock

Last Friday night, Scotts Valley police stopped a Turlock man who was driving a vehicle with a long expired registration. They determined that he was a convicted felon in multiple states so a check of the vehicle was done by K9 Atlas. During the search, officers located ammunition and pepper spray, prescription meds, and a variety of stolen mail and ID cards. He was arrested and booked for felony mail theft, possession of ammunition and pepper spray by a prohibited person, misappropriation of property, and possession of prescription medication without a prescription.

Doing Dumb Stuff On Meth

Last Thursday, the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s office got a call about a man passed out in a car with a gas can next to him in a neighborhood in Soquel. When deputies arrived, they found two men and a woman in the car. One of the men lied about his name to try to avoid being arrested for his outstanding warrants. The woman had a small amount of methamphetamine. The driver was in possession of methamphetamine and expensive (and obviously stolen) landscaping tools. The landscaping tools were identified by their serial numbers and had been stolen from a local resort only a few days prior. The stolen property was returned and the three people were arrested.

The Usual Skidmarks In Our Collective Underwear

Tuesday morning around 3AM, SCPD responded to a report of a disturbance on the 100 block of Coral street, otherwise known as “Skid Row”. When they arrived, they determined that a victim had been kicked by someone for talking too loudly. Nobody was arrested of course. Don’t they know people are trying to sleep out there?

Good Morning Felton!

Last Friday around 7:30AM, a 19 year old female was arrested at a residence off of Lake Blvd. in Felton on a number of weapons and drug charges, as well as for resisting arrest. A male companion was also arrested.

Maybe Try a Less Conspicuous Spot Next Time?

Last Saturday morning around 8:30AM, Santa Cruz sheriff’s deputies responded to a complaint about a man who parked his RV overnight on private property near the 5400 block of Highway 9. The subject was found to have two felony warrants out of Glenn County and was taken to County Jail.

Just a Quick Stop before Jail

Sunday night around 11:30PM, a 44 year old Boulder Creek man was arrested at the QuikStop on the 5900 block of Highway 9 in Felton after being stopped for vehicle code violations. A search of the vehicle found methamphetamine processed for sales, suspected stolen property, identity theft materials, and burglary tools. He was arrested and taken to jail.

Good Samaritan Recognized by SCPD

Santa Cruz police recognized a man who was willing to risk his safety to help others this week. Last weekend, SCPD responded to the 300 block of Ocean Street for a report of an assault on a shop owner and his son. When they arrived, they say the Good Samaritan was detaining the 25 year old suspect from San Jose, who saw the suspect hitting the business owner and went to help. Police say he tackled the suspect to the ground and held him there until police arrived. Police say the suspect is a violent parolee who left his 5 year old child in a car outside the shop during the assault. He was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, child endangerment and damaging a communication device with intent to prevent help.

The Weekly Seen

The ubiquitous Jump bike. 

The English Beat Plays For Free at the Boardwalk!

It’s the first concert of the season at the Boardwalk! And it’s the English Beat! Maybe they’ll play “Tears of a Clown” for Glover and Krohn. Free shows at 6:30 and 8:30PM.

The Santa Mierda Podcast Network

Be sure to check out the Santa Mierda Podcast Network! We’ve got the latest “Unfiltered” by yours truly, as well as a new podcast, “Untreated” from Sharona. You can find the Santa Mierda Podcast Network on SoundCloud. And Apple Music. And Spotify. It’s free so check it out and give it a listen! Next new podcast should be coming this Sunday night!

Check Out Our Twitter Feed for More Mierda!

Be sure to check out and follow our Twitter feed for even more mierda! Even though the Dump only comes your way once a week, I try to post breaking news and updates on other days as well. So check us out and follow us on Twitter for even more updates about real time news in Santa Cruz you might not otherwise hear about.

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12 Comments

  1. Oh the irony, Santa Clara County Health which runs a much more transparent and effective needle exchange program names itself The Needle Exchange Program (NEX). They don’t need a fancy name like Syringe Services Program.
    https://www.sccgov.org/sites/phd/services/hiv-resources/Pages/needle-exchange.aspx

    • “Syringe Services Program” is a name derived from their failure to create an actual exchange. Instead of fixing the program, they just gave it a new name. Thanks Ike!

  2. Johnnybitchin

    Better than any article you could read in the Senile…thanks Ben

  3. Interesting that people are coming all the way from Texas to load up on drugs here in Santa Cruz County! Success! Our brand is becoming nationally known!!!

  4. From the SO’s Press Logs:

    SO Case# 1905189

    “(V1) was tied up and assaulted with a deadly weapon. While (V1) was tied up he was forced to move to another room by the suspects. Suspects took an unknown amount of items from (V1) and was also driving his vehicle down the driveway. Deputies arrived when the suspects were trying to leave the residence. Both suspects ran and were eventually captured after a search.”

  5. Matthew Bellizzi

    An update to the laurel st bike accident. The bicyclist, a friend of mine was taken to Salinas. He’s stable but, has to undergo surgery for a fractured hip and pelvis. It appears he suffered broken bones in one arm as well. On a social media post he stated when asked if wearing a helmet “That is the only reason I’m able to type this”. Please check your mirrors when leaving parking places….

  6. Mark Walker

    Ben, the dog days of summer begin around July 11th and last about a month. They are so named by the Romans. The rise of the Dog Star, Sirius, usually meant drier and hotter conditions. The Romans believed that the star, brightest in the night sky during this time, was responsible for adding to the hot weather because of its brightness.

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