The Weekly Dump 8.30.19

Aptos Woman Arrested For Stabbing Her Husband to Death

Saturday afternoon around 1PM, Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a home on Victoria Lane in Aptos for a report of a man who was stabbed. When they arrived at the home, they found a 63 year old man suffering from stab wounds. Apparently there was some sort of altercation between the man and his wife prior to the stabbing. Deputies attempted CPR on the victim but he died at the scene.An autopsy will be performed on the victim to determine the cause and manner of death. His 51 year old wife was arrested on suspicion of murder after detectives investigated. Bail was set at more than a million dollars. Media reports have indicated that the couple might have been arguing over money prior to the altercation. It’s a pretty sad story. The couple had 2 children, and now the kids lost their father and their mother is in jail for killing him. By all indications, the couple was well liked in the community and neighbors were shocked.

Man Stabbed in San Lorenzo Park on Monday Night

Monday night around 9PM, SCPD responded to a report of a stabbing victim near Riverside and Soquel. SCPD responded and found a victim who was stabbed multiple times. He was uncooperative but stated it happened in San Lorenzo Park and claimed he didn’t know the person who stabbed him. SCPD found a blood trail under the Soquel bridge, and while they searched the nearby park for a suspect, a 64 year old man called SCPD and said he was the person who stabbed the guy and he had the knife and could be picked up at Seabright and Murray. SCPD sent multiple units to that scene and the man was arrested at gunpoint without incident. Good thing he called and turned himself in! The victim was taken to a trauma center for treatment. He was expected to live despite multiple stab wounds.

Triage and Priority

Around the same time SCPD was busy investigating that stabbing and looking for a suspect, SCPD got a report about a transient male yelling he was “going to kill your whole family” at someone on the 1100 block of Pacific. SCPD was too tied up to deal with it. I haven’t heard of any families killed downtown.

Woman Stabbed in Beach Flats

Tuesday night around 6:30PM. SCPD responded to a home near 2nd and Leibrandt for a report of someone that had been stabbed in the leg. One person was detained at the scene, and the victim required medical attention and taken to Dominican for their injuries.

Home Invasion Attempt Leads to Arrest Near UCSC

Wednesday morning around 11AM, reports came in about some sort of domestic disturbance near Sheldon and Highland. A woman inside a residence with an infant and a man (possibly armed) was  attempting to kick in a back door and break in through a window. SCPD surrounded the home and the suspect was hit with a non lethal projectile before being handcuffed and arrested.

High Speed Chase on Mission Ends in Neary Lagoon

Sunday around 4PM, SCPD was involved in a high speed chase reaching speeds up to 60MPH on Mission Street. SCPD quickly called off the chase, but the suspect stopped the car and bailed on foot into Neary Lagoon Park on Bay near the water plant. SCPD stationed multiple units around Depot Park and the 27 year old male suspect was quickly arrested at the park entrance on Chestnut Street. He was charged with vehicle theft, evading police, burglary, drug possession, possession of tear gas by a felon, vandalism, theft, possession of burglary tools, hit and run, and few other charges. Last check he was still in jail. Arrested 10 times since 2013. We’ve coddled him this far. Why stop now?

Aptos High School Threat Treated as a “Joke”

Sunday afternoon, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office received several calls about an apparent threat made on Snapchat by a 14 year old boy which they said did not include a threat of violence. Deputies interviewed the teen in person, who told them the post was made as a joke. They also searched his home and confirmed that he did not have access to weapons. The Sheriff’s Office says there are no criminal charges pending and the school will further investigate the issue.

San Lorenzo High School Briefly Locked Down

This past week, San Lorenzo Valley High School was briefly locked down, after a report of a man with a knife. According to the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s office, a male brandished an unopened knife at the victim in front of the San Lorenzo Valley Elementary School cafeteria during lunch time. The suspect was later located and arrested.

Man Arrested For Threat at Cabrillo College

A suspect has been arrested after a report of a possible threat at Cabrillo College. The college became aware of a possible threat someone said they overheard early on Wednesday morning. The Sheriff’s Office found the threat credible and the suspect was arrested without incident.

Pair Convicted of Murder on the Levee Sentenced to Life in Prison

A man and woman convicted of killing a 24 year old homeless man on the San Lorenzo River levee in August of 2016 were sentenced by Santa Cruz Superior Court Judge Ariadne Symons Monday afternoon to life in prison. This was one of the first stories I ever covered in the Weekly Dump. The shooting on the San Lorenzo west levee shocked the city and triggered restrictions on levee and park access.

How to Detoxify City Hall

This week’s Good Times ponders the question “Can Santa Cruz Detoxify City Hall“? And the short answer is yes, of course it can. It can recall the 2 people that are creating the most toxicity there.

And speaking of the recall petition, here’s where you can sign it this week. You can also get more information about people willing to come to you to get your signature if you prefer a less public approach. But your signature is needed if you haven’t signed.

Saturday-Sunday-Monday 8/31-9/2
7:00 am -5:00 pm
West Cliff Drive (at the surfer statue above Cowells)

Saturday 8/31, 9-12
Westside Farmers Market

Sunday, 9/1, 1-4 pm
Meder Street Park (near dog park area)

Sunday 9/1, Monday 9/2
4:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Whole Foods (off Soquel Ave)
911 Soquel Ave

Nothing Good Happens at 3AM

Wednesday morning around 3AM, California Highway Patrol officers tried to stop a GMC Yukon for having an obstructed license plate on 41st Avenue near Gross Road in Capitola. After a short pursuit, the driver lost control of the car on Portola Drive, where it overturned and hit a tree. CHP said the driver was a 14 year old male without a license. Five other teens ranging in age from 14 to 18 years old were in the vehicle and all suffered major injuries in the crash and were taken to various hospitals including Valley Medical Center, Natividad Medical Center, Watsonville Medical Center and Dominican Hospital.

When Life Doesn’t Really Mean Life

A man convicted of a 1984 murder recently had his parole revoked by the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office after he was arrested on new charges. At the hearing last week, his parole was revoked and he was returned to prison to continue serving his life sentence. In the original murder conviction, the suspect robbed a man of his groceries and threw him off a bridge, even though the victim cooperated and begged for his life. He received a life sentence but was granted parole in February of 2018. He was released from prison by the Board of Parole and was put in a drug treatment program, but he left after a few months. His location was not known until he was arrested for a new offense recently in Oregon, who tossed him back to us. He will be eligible for reconsideration for parole in a year. Yes, you read that last sentence right.

Hey It’s His Downtown Too!

Sunday morning around 1AM, a 32 year old man was arrested by SCPD on the 800 block of Pacific Avenue for a variety of stuff, including brandishing a knife, disturbing the peace, and being drunk in public. He was arrested and taken to jail.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving

Saturday morning around 8:30AM, a 40 year old woman was arrested on the 100 block of Manor Avenue on a variety of charges, including resisting arrest, having false identification and trying to use it, possession of burglary tools, and having two outstanding warrants and another bench warrant felony. She was arrested and taken to jail.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving Part II

Wednesday night, a convicted felon on probation in possession of counterfeit money and ammunition was arrested after a vehicle stop. Deputies found several counterfeit $100 bills and about 25 rounds of rifle ammunition in his trunk. Since it is illegal for felons to have ammunition, the man was arrested and taken to the Santa Cruz County Jail.

The Gift That Keeps On Giving Part III

Tuesday morning around 9:30AM, SCPD made a felony car stop at River and Madrone and arrested two people at gunpoint after a 12 gauge shotgun was found in their vehicle. One person is wanted for warrants in Texas but they won’t pick him up. The other has 2 misdemeanors and a negative OR. Both are on probation.

Jeepers Creepers!

Sunday around 6:00PM, SCPD responded to the 400 Block of Beach Street and arrested a 24 year old male for apparently video recording others in a restroom. He was booked into the Main Jail early the next morning and released 21 minutes later.

Battery Suspect Arrested on Pacific Avenue

Friday around midnight, a 44 year old man was arrested for battery on the 1200 block of Pacific Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz. No word on a victim or their condition.

Robbery Suspect Arrested on Beach Street

Friday night around 6PM, a 58 year old man was arrested for robbery on the 100 block of Beach Street. I think he’s new in town. He’s been arrested twice this week, nothing before that, and by the looks of his mugshots he’s a transient bum. Howdy neighbor!

Hold His Beer While You’re At It!

Saturday around midnight, SCPD arrested a 28 year old man for possession of brass knuckles and heroin, as well as a parole hold. Arrested 16 times locally since 2013. Think we coddle this guy too much?

Busted on Seabright State Beach

Wednesday night around 9:30PM, a State Parks Ranger requested backup from SCPD to Seabright State Beach after dealing with some kind of disturbance on the beach. SCPD sent multiple units and when they arrived they found two men detained in handcuffs by the bathrooms.

Messing With the Wrong House

Sunday morning around 4AM, I heard a report about some kind of altercation on the 1100 block of East Cliff. The witness calling it in reported her husband was physically fighting with either a possible intruder or someone trying to steal from his home or vehicle. Apparently the husband woke up and confronted the man in the front yard and started fighting with him. It sounded like the suspect ran off before SCPD arrived.

Espectáculo de Mierda at City Hall

The city council was back under the big top this week, and they had a lot of mierda on their mind. The evening session was spent discussing the perils of using a public restroom at the Louden Nelson Center. And boy, did we get some eye opening tales from the staff there.

“Feces, clogged toilets and syringes are among the problems public bathrooms in Santa Cruz face on a daily basis, according to the city staff at a Tuesday night council meeting.” And people actually question why we would want more of this by keeping them open longer? Santa Cruz needs to address the cause of the problem, not keep reacting to the problem. The cause of the problem is bad behavior, and housing status is irrelevant as it pertains to bad behavior here. The solution is to better punish bad behavior, which we seemingly refuse to do.

More from KION.

Who Knew the City Wants to Buy Gateway Plaza?

I pulled this from the recent city council meeting agenda. All of these negotiations take place behind closed doors and out of the public eye. I thought the city was broke?

B. Real Property Negotiations (Government Code §54956.8)

1) Property: 700 River Street
APN: 008-174-09
Owner: Summer Solstice, L.P.
City Negotiator: Christophe Schneiter
Negotiating Parties: City, Owners, and consultant Universal Field Services
Under Negotiation: Price, terms of payment, or both for potential purchase of property

2) Property: 550-580 River Street
APN: 008-061-04
Owner: Gateway Plaza Associates, LLC
City Negotiator: Christophe Schneiter
Negotiating Parties: City and Property Owners
Under Negotiation: Price, terms of payment, or both for potential purchase of property

3) Property: 600-650 River Street
APN: 008-601-02
Owner: SGP Associates, LLC
City Negotiator: Christophe Schneiter
Negotiating Parties: City and Property Owners
Under Negotiation: Price, terms of payment, or both for potential purchase of property

These properties are the Gateway merchants that back up to River street, as well as the professional building on the corner of 1 and 9.

Weekly Shoutouts and Thanks!

I just want to thank Surf City Barber Shop, Stockwell Cellars, Central Coast Welding and Fabrication, Java Junction Coffee Roasting, Union Foodie Truck, KSCO, Bone-A-Fide Dog Care, Brooks Properties, Carolyn Livingston Campaign Services, Damon Bruder Construction, Biomarcommunications, Jane Becker, and all the other local businesses and business owners who are actively supporting the recall efforts. Please support these brave local businesses, who are being stalked and harassed by recall critics for simply exercising their first amendment freedom of speech rights. They deserve our ongoing support and our business.

Also thanks and kudos to David Plumlee, Terry Spodick, Don Reimann, Robert Stone, David Quesada, Scott Richards, Elizabeth Clifton, Carol Polhamus, and everyone else who has donated their time and money to the recall campaign. Your contributions are very much appreciated!

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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32 Responses

  1. JFC. This city is one large playground for criminals. Getting rid of Glover and Krohn won’t solve all our problems but it is such a good step in the right direction.

  2. Jeepers, Ben! You must have writters’ cramp this week! Good thing crime is down or you would need to start doing daily installments just to keep up! Thanks for all your hard work!

  3. Couldn’t help but chuckle at the Louden Nelson bathroom report. After years of local businesses dealing with feces, syringes and clogged toilets, (oh and they forgot clogged sinks, sink showering, grafitti, human waste grafitti, general damage -and in some cases- arson), this finally made the docket… not that it matters much in this town considering it takes copious reports of this happening to even get the attention of the council to begin with… and once on the docket does it ever REALLY get addressed, or can we even expect a plan to eradicate it?
    I have an idea, how about if the council wants to have public restrooms available, they open up city halls as well as city staffs private restrooms to everyone downtown?

  4. Just another great example of why Glover and Krohn are unfit to serve our city. Even after being presented with evidence that restrooms are being trashed on a daily basis they dismiss it as “anecdotal” and “one time”. Really? The belief that city staff have some sort of deep state agenda against the less fortunate is worthy of Alex Jones and Info Wars. How about they just want to keep the place clean and safe for the actual patrons of the facility? Let’s have Drew and Chris clean those bathrooms and see those piles of “anecdotal evidence” themselves.

    • Thanks JTF. If they don’t like it, it’s “anecdotal” and “one time”. If it’s something they like, it’s “experts have said” and “shown repeatedly”. Whatever floats their preferred narrative, no matter how stupid or opposed it might be.

  5. Welcome to the jungle folks…Seems we are in some super scary times and i blame it solely on the free needles, Bums everywhere and the city council kissing the asses of every weirdo in town. RECALL !!!!! To hell save the city..

  6. Thank you so much for keeping me informed as to what my ounce beautiful hometown has turned into! My Mom and sisters still live there and are trying to affect change as well as multiple friends! My only hope is one day they get a city councils with some balls and clean it up!! Get rid of the stupid idiots that are running now!! I don’t even go there anymore!! To depressing!! Keep up the good fight! Thanks again!!

    • Thanks Dale! Tell your mom and sisters and tell them to tell their friends to sign the recall petition! That’s how we can change this. It’s not the end all, it’s the beginning.

  7. Most buildings and property’s I know of get cleaned at least once a day and just by a few people or just one. So most of the nights mess is cleaned up and street sweepers run often on my shifts. Day and night regular folk have to relieve themselves and during the weekends especially I’ve lost count of how many people Ive seen peeing wherever they can in downtown SC. The addicts, criminals ect ect have no self control for one reason or another and just destroy any and everything that they come into contact with, when your life revolves around getting high and or generally criminal activity nothing is sacred. Then there are those who want to bathe in the restrooms and or take them over to live out of.

    These people in charge of our town need to simply walk around to see that this town is in bad shape. How can you enjoy a place where just parking your vehicle means it may or may not be broken into, you have to watch out for needles everywhere you go/sit, constantly being begged for money and or being hassled by very scary “people “ that have records of being violent repeat offenders. And that’s only half the stories and problems. And it’s happening all over that’s why SC needs to do something ASAP it’s only going to get worse.

    Watch out for each other is all I can really say, drive around at night/early morning get familiar with who’s creeping around/camping in cars around your neighborhoods I bet you’ll find that you’ll start seeing the same “ people”. This has gone on long enough but it looks like no charge if any will happen anytime soon.

  8. Hi Ben – I believe the original murder victim in your “When Life Doesn’t Really Mean Life” piece was a well-known and well-like homeless veteran named Raul Lopez. Back in the mid-70’s the town was not overrun with homeless like it is today so Raul was easily recognizable and I actually had dealings with him at my old job. He was definitely mentally ill but completely harmless. He was thrown off a bridge over the San Lorenzo river by two other homeless guys, one of them being the guy you reference in the article. The community was outraged and saddened when they learned that Raul had been killed for a bag of groceries, and if I remember correctly local veterans paid for his funeral and carried his casket.
    Fast forward to today and the creep who killed him is eligible for parole in one year and our town is overrun by dangerous homeless drug addicts. RIP Raul Lopez.

    • Thanks Pablo. As someone who has been following local crime for longer than the 3 years I’ve been doing this weekly column about it, there’s an enormous amount of homeless on homeless crime locally. Yet that angle consistently fails to get reported, and it fails to get recognized by the kooks complaining ad nauseum about the homeless being picked on. Yes the homeless are vulnerable. And a large part of that threat comes from other homeless people. Own it. It’s just another elephant in the room.

  9. The town is a mess, the city council is a mess, and losers Krohn and Glover—major contributors to the mess—have got to go. But that’s only part of the problem. The cops do their job, Dave does his job, bums and criminals are arrested only to have the courts release them “on probation.” What the hell does probation even mean around here other than the Get Out of Jail Free card. Ben’s mentioned it time and again, and Pablo, above, also brings it up. The question is, Why are these repeat offenders released over and over? This is a judicial issue, and I have no idea how to stop it. If anyone here has some ideas, please post them. Yes, I know props 47 and 57 need to be overturned, but there must be some way we can address this on the local level.

    • Julie I do believe it’s judicial problem thank you for noting that. For those who know drug addiction, the only way to stop an addict from using is to force withdrawal upon them in jail. And then follow up with drug testing and if they re-offend put them back in jail until they get the idea. Since a large portion of our homeless are addicts and there’s lots of space in jail, I have been saying for ages to put the addicts in jail and stop the revolving door that Ben talks about all the time.

      Second we should bring back the lockdown residential facilities for the second homeless subgroup — the mentally ill that Ronald Reagan did away with decades ago — and which was a big mistake. We need to bring those back which will solve the second big part of the problem — which is psychotic episodes in public. This also is a traditional problem and the DA and the chief judge Paul Burdick can play important roles here by stopping the revolving door.

      The third big group is the genuine down-and-out hard-luck cases that compassionately need to be housed in hotels and helped with the money Santa Cruz gets from the state. Instead the City spends the money on hiring more staff or funding the raft of progressive nonprofit leeches on the system who in the long run do nothing.

      I know a lot of us would pay for itself . Police overtime budget can be greatly reduced and this money can go directly to the people who are down and out by putting them up in motels. This is judicial to the extent that the police department — the front end of the judicial system — is codependent with the homeless. Just think if some of the millions of dollars of police overtime–‘ spent dealing with homeless crimes which account for 50% of all or more of all police time, we’re freed up to spend on the truly indigent? But police have no motivation to cut their overtime budget which would happen naturally if the above actions were taken.

      You asked for Solutions and these are three solutions– all Politically Incorrect — but none the less Solutions.

      • Thank you Gracchus. Excellent solutions; all of which are do-able. Anyone reading this, if you’re thinking about running for the two council seats the clowns will vacate, please take those solutions to heart and figure out a way to implement them.

      • Gracchus wrote “there’s lots of space in jail” – that isn’t true for the Santa Cruz jail. The jail is typically over capacity

        Regarding “police have no motivation to cut their overtime budget” – the overtime is primarily a consequence of being short staffed. There would be much less overtime if the SCPD were able to fill all vacant positions.

    • The root cause always has been, since I’ve been alive (born and raised here), UCSC. The student voting block gives rise to the Krohns, Browns, and Glover’s. Even your Leopolds.
      Cutting the head off the snake requires getting UCSC shut down. A small step would be to stop the students from double voting (I dunno, prosecute them for voter fraud perhaps?). But even then I don’t think that will help, given the associated progressive agenda perpetrated into the community from the University.
      Sorry for being a downer, just calling it as I see it.

  10. One wonders if Kieth McHenry, founder Food Not Bombs non-profit, is the one funding the expensive looking, if not so logo graphically correct, signs he and others are always seen holding and improperly used non-profit funds intended for bums to produce them. The sign holders are a little like a secret political club that doesn’t really have a name, but it would be a really long one if they did like “Militant homeless advocates for eco-sustaining , 5G fearing, wealth re-distributing, Mayor-manager bashing, everyone else oppression blame grievance mongering, rules optional, Globalist-Marxist aligning for a New World Order Comrade Collective”. OK , I wonder anyway.

    • My friends and I have always wondered about who funds the signs. When McMuffin and Crabby were domestic partners, I always figured she was the one making them and stealing resources from UCSC. After they split, the signs went away for awhile. Then she re-surfaces recently and the signs are back. Correlation or coincidence? Who knows? The signs are just part of the regular laugh track for Santa Cruz city council meetings. Just like Bob Noise, the Elise woman who gnaws on the microphone, and the Manson doppleganger who loves to turn around and preach to the peanut gallery during his 2 minutes of TV time.

  11. Live in a community just outside Santa Cruz and we are experiencing a steady influx of idiots from Santa Cruz’s homeless. We are fighting this battle at a smaller scale, but hoping to prevent this from becoming a larger scale.

    • Nowhere is safe now! Capitola and Scott’s vallet were that last frontier of safety and cleanliness, and now SC’s crazy/druggie/bum cup overfloweth. And now are main beach is the new “camp bernal”. Is anywhere here sacred? Or should we just throw in the towel and name this town home of the homeless…?

  12. This is merely hearsay, but an acquaintance just told me that Glover may be renting and residing in an illegal granny unit on the westside. Does anyone have additional info on this?

  13. Ben, Ashley’s conversation with ex Chief Vogel on KSCO today was nothing short of eye opening, illuminating, shocking and informative. I urge you and all to listen to it. Common Sense Ashley. Gotta hand it to her for snagging him as interviewee. And the comments made about one of the recallees shows that he (councilman) has had a history of untoward behavior.

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