Bike Theft Suspect Mug Shots

With the recent spike in bicycle thefts, we thought we would share some good news.  In the past week 5 individuals have been caught in the act of stealing bicycles.  Thanks to the unbeatable combination of good witnesses and good police work, these people have been arrested.  Here they are.  

Case 13S-00839

Thomas Wingo 24 yrs

and 

Jessica Vanbrug 31 yrs

Case 13S-00859

Patrick Collins 36 yrs

 

Case 13S-00915

Zachary Bernal 19 yrs

Case 13S-00917

Jeremy Ochoa 31 yrs

Good work community members.  Your quick actions, and dialing 9-1-1 with a good description put these people behind bars. 

Scanner Feed Back Up

The police scanner feature on our iPhone and Droid app was down for a short while.  The problem has been fixed and we are back on the air.  To those that let us know about the problem, thanks for the heads up.  Meanwhile, we are working on some exciting new features with our mobile app partners.  Stay Tuned, we hope to release the updates in the next 30 days.

Chief Vogel Takes Down an Armed Suspect

Chief Vogel has always insisted his command staff take an active role in the day-to-day operations of the organization.  This equates to getting out on the street, responding to some calls, and actually catching bad guys.  Chief Vogel did exactly this on the morning of January 24, 2013.  

The Chief was in uniform driving a marked patrol car.  He was patrolling the downtown area when he heard the call for service come over the radio.   The call, a disturbance at New Leaf Market, involved an individual who had threatened store employees with coming back to shoot them.  A description of the suspect was put out to the responding officers.  

Chief Vogel was in the area and swung into action in an attempt to find the suspect.  He spotted the suspect coming out of the Trader Joe’s store in the 700 block of Front Street.  Within seconds, the suspect was in custody and a loaded 32 caliber handgun was retrieved from his pants pocket.  

The suspect, 63 year old Don Lane (not to be confused with the Councilmember of the same name) from Santa Cruz, was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail for being in possession of a concealed and loaded firearm, and making criminal threats to the store employees.  Officers served a follow up search warrant at the suspect's residence in the 1300 block of Pacific Avenue for any additional weapons or ammunition.  Nothing was found in the home. 

 

Nice bit of handy work Chief!! 

The Gun

 The Bullets

The Suspect

Most Wanted January 22, 2013

Richard Norman Sasse

Description:   White male, 6’0”, 155 pounds, blue eyes, brown hair

Age:                29 years old

 

Crime:

Wanted for Armed Robbery, Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Attempted Carjacking, Possession of a Concealed Loaded Firearm, Possession of Marijuana for Sales, and Escape From a Detention Facility.

In 2011, Mr. Sasse was involved in a string of robberies and car-jackings in the city of Santa Cruz.  Mr. Sasse was eventually arrested and booked into jail for his crimes.  While in custody, he escaped from a Detention Facility. 

Mr. Sasse’s whereabouts are unknown.  There is a full extradition warrant for his arrest on the above listed charges if located anywhere in the United States. 

Mr. Sasse is considered armed and dangerous

Contact:         

If you spot Mr. Sasse, please call 9-1-1.  Anyone with information on Mr. Sasse's whereabouts is encouraged to contact the Santa Cruz Police Department Investigations Unit (831) 420-5820.  YOu may also leave an anonymous tip on our Tip line: (831) 420-5995, or our iPhone and Droid mobile app.  

Help Us Identify This Groper

On January 15, 2013 at approximately 4:30 PM the suspect depicted in this sketch groped a female in a public parking lot at Cedar and Church Street.  The victim is a 23 year old female from Santa Cruz.  The victim was leaning into her car to retrieve items when she felt the suspect reach under her skirt and grab her buttocks.  The victim turned around to find the suspect was standing behind her. 

When the victim confronted the suspect, he responded with inappropriate comments.  Based on the suspect’s demeanor, the victim believed him to be intoxicated.  That demeanor included slurred speech and unsteady balance. 

A second male approached and apologized for the suspect’s behavior while pushing him into the passenger seat of the car parked next to the victim.  The victim described this car as a silver 1990’s model Toyota 4 Runner.  The victim ran to a nearby business to get help and call the police.  When she returned, the suspect and associated vehicle were gone. 

The victim has worked with detectives to produce this sketch and provide a description.  She has also worked with detectives following up on potential leads.  The victim was not physically injured during the attack. 

In addition to the attached sketch, the suspect is described as:

• white male approximately 25-30 years old
• approximately 5'8" to 5'9" tall
• approximately 165-170 pounds
• short dark hair, dark eyes, stubbly facial hair
• wearing a blue t-shirt and khaki pants.

This case does not appear to be related to the groping case that occurred on January 11, 2013. 

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Santa Cruz Police Department Investigations Unit at (831) 420-5820. Witnesses may also leave anonymous tips at the tip line number below and our iPhone and Android apps.