Neighborhood Night Block Parties a Success Once Again

Thanks to all the hosts who organized block parties, and all those that participated.  In spite of everything we had going on with police calls, we found time to get by many of the events.

We had a great time touring each of the neighborhoods, saying hello to old friends and meeting new ones.

Deputy Chief Clark had the radar trailer out playing catch and tracking the fastball speeds of many neighborhood kids.  I think there were some dads wanting to take their turn too!

We ran into all kinds of people out and about, even mascot Mav’Riks and other representatives from the Santa Cruz Warriors cruising around on a pedi-cab giving out ice cream.

Overall there were 40 block party events.  It was great to see so many neighbors networking and building relationships to keep our neighborhoods safe and improve our quality of life.

Great Job Everyone! 

Quick Thinking Victims and Citizens Lead to Child Annoying and Child Porn Arrest

Kudos to our victims and an alert citizen who called in this information to report suspicious activity.  Their alertness and call led the arrest of this predator. 

On Tuesday September 24, 2013, Santa Cruz Police Department Detectives arrested suspect Joshua Paul James 31 years old, (Santa Cruz Resident) on charges of Child Annoying, Stalking and Child Pornography.  Mr. James was booked into the Santa Cruz County Jail with an increased bail amount of $250,000. 

Here is Mr. James with glasses

?

 

Here he is without glasses:

 

On Monday September 23, 2013, Santa Cruz Police Department officers took a report of suspicious activity involving a person in a vehicle around Santa Cruz High School.  Officers learned that two student athletes were running through the neighborhood as part of their training regimen.  In the course of their running, they noticed a suspicious person in a vehicle following them and appearing at various parts of their running route. 

On September 24, 2013, Detectives were in the course of following up the previous day’s report when a second report of suspicious activity was dispatched near Pacific Collegiate School on Swift Street.  It was reported to officers that a male suspect appeared to be photographing or filming female students in and around the school grounds. 

Descriptions in both cases appeared similar.  Detectives began scouring the city streets looking for the suspect’s vehicle.  They found the car parked in a lot near Front and Laurel Streets.  Mr. James eventually got into the car and drove away.  Officers conducted a car stop and contacted Mr. James. 

Mr. James was interviewed and eventually arrested for several counts of possessing obscene matter depicting children as well as Child Annoying and Stalking charges.  Detectives learned that Mr. James was video filming and taking photographs of young females between 13-15 years for purpose of sexual gratification. 

Detectives served a search warrant at Mr. James’ home in the 300 block of Buena Vista Ave.  Detectives also searched his car, a 2007 White Toyota Yaris, License Plate #5UCD442. 

Detectives seized several items of evidence including photography equipment, storage cards and computer equipment.  Detectives are in the process of meticulously going the through the images and hard drives to identify any additional photographs and/or victims. 

In this case, the efforts of alert citizens and victims provided critical information that assisted in the quick location, identification and arrest of the suspect.  Additionally, they called to report the suspicious activity, which eventually led to this predator being removed from the streets before he was able to claim additional victims. 

The Latest Phone Scam Invoking Name of Police Department....Don't Fall For It

Yet another in a series of phone scams

In this case, the caller claims to be an attorney representing some interest and claims money is owed to them.  The caller (masquerading as an attorney) makes threats to the victim if the money is not paid. 

When our caller hung up on the pretend attorney, they received a second call.  Here’s the unique twist

The second call showed a caller ID as having come from the Santa Cruz Police Department.  A simple spoofing program can change that information.

This time the caller is a female claiming to be a Santa Cruz Police Department detective.  The fake detective claims she is in the process of getting an arrest warrant, but will halt the process if the victim agrees to pay the owed money.  Unfortunately, our victim paid money. 

First…Let’s be clear….the Police Department does not work in cahoots with bill collectors, and we don’t get warrants for people to assist the bill collectors. 

Next….Police Department phone numbers don’t come up on your caller ID as "Santa Cruz Police Department".  All of our numbers here at the Police Department have a “420” prefix….Yes, we are aware of the irony there!!!

Finally, if you are in doubt, you can always call us back.  Just call our main office line at (831) 420-5810 and we will direct you to the person who is trying to call you.  Or you can simply ask for a call back number and then verify that number with the directory on our Website. 

And the kicker…..Never, Ever, Ever pay someone via a Western Union MoneyGram, or prepaid credit cards.  As soon as you hear those words, your SCAM alarm should be sounding as loud as possible.  Don’t be an easy target for these crooks. 

If you get a call like this, please report it, we’d love to meet the person on the other end.  We have a parting gift of bracelets for them! 

Stabbing Suspect Identified...And We're Looking For Him

Detectives have identified the suspect in the stabbing case on September 16th at San Lorenzo Blvd and Riverside Ave.  

The suspect is: 

Shawn Frazier - 35 YRS 

5’8” tall, 180 lbs, Brown Hair and Hazel Eyes

Wanted for assault with a deadly weapon. 

Mr. Fazier is to be considered "Armed and Dangerous". 

He has been identified as the stabber in this case that likely resulted from a drug transaction gone bad. 

Mr. Frazier is yet another in a long list of suspects who have a significant history of arrests by SCPD.

If you know his whereabouts....Don't be shy, pick up the phone and call 9-1-1.

If you feel better about leaving an anonymous tip, you can do that at (831) 420-5995, or via our smartphone app.  

Persons of Interest From our Stabbing Case on Monday September 16th

The Santa Cruz Police Department has identified persons of interest in the follow up investigation of the stabbing on September 16, 2013.   

Mitra Osho Orescan, 22 yrs

Lauren Michelle Lotz, 22 yrs

Mitra Orescan currently has a warrant for his arrest from previous traffic and narcotics offenses.  He was arrested by SCPD on September 9, 2013 for Child Endangerment.  He was out of custody and at the stabbing incident on September 16^th.  Orescan has a history of drug and traffic related contacts with the police department.

Lauren Lotz is only a person of interest in this case.  She does not have any active wants or warrants.

Detectives are still looking for the blue Dodge Quad Cab truck and driver that transported the stabbing victim to the hospital following the incident. Here's an image of the truck we captured from surveillance video

Detectives believe the motive for the stabbing was a confrontation over a drug deal. Our victim has not been a huge help to the investigation, but we are working through it in spite of this. 

If you have information on the whereabouts of these individuals please call 9-1-1 or you can leave an anonymous tip (831) 420-5995 or our smart phone app. 

SCPD Tactical Team Takes Awards in SWAT Competition "Best in the West"

Last week, 7 members of the Santa Cruz Police Department Tactical team competed in the annual “Best in the West” SWAT competition. 

This event invites the top SWAT teams throughout California, Washington, Arizona, and Nevada.  The teams compete in a number of grueling events that test their physical strength as well as individual and team SWAT skills.  Our team members compete internally for the right to represent SCPD at this event.

 

This year’s team consisted of Sergeant Chris LeMoss, Sergeant Arnold Vasquez, Sergeant Greg Crofts, Officer Carter Jones, Officer Alec Ganzel, Officer Josh Trog and Officer Erich Hoppe.  This was our second year of being invited to compete in this event.

Left to Right:  Carter Jones, Greg Crofts, Alec Ganzel, Chris LeMoss, Josh Trog, Erich Hoppe, Arnold Vasquez

We are proud to announce that Sergeant Chris LeMoss took Second Place in the individual Sniper Course event, while our team was awarded Third Place in the team Sniper Event.   

This was a great accomplishment and testament to the skills, discipline and dedication our team possesses.  These team members work hard and take pride in their skills and team chemistry.  Our Tactical team beat out much larger and better equipped agencies. 

Congratulations to Sergeant Chris LeMoss and the rest of our “Best in the West” Tactical Team. 

Cookies For Courage at Holy Cross School

In our favorite event of the year, Holy Cross School continued their tradition of honoring emergency responders with their annual "Cookies For Courage" event.  We love seeing the students and staff and we love the cookies!

This event was the invention of Riley Sisk after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.  Riley was a 6th grade student at the school when the attacks occurred.  She developed the idea to have a meaningful event that honored all the first responders and remembered the sacrifices made.  This event has been going on ever since. 

Police Officers, Firefighters, and Paramedics are honored each year at this ceremony.  At the end of the ceremony we are presented with plates and plates of delicious cookies to bring back and share with our staff. 

This year they made and distributed wristbands to commemorate the event.  

A heartfelt THANKS to Holy Cross School Principal Michael Hooper and all the staff at Holy Cross School.  Huge THANK YOU'S to all the students and their parents.  And finally a massive THANK YOU to Riley Sisk for starting this wonderful tradition.  We are truly honored by this great ceremony and outpouring of support for us.  

Why You Should Register Your Bikes and Report Any Thefts Immediately

Sunday night, our patrol team stopped this guy at Jack in the Box on Ocean Street.  

 

This is Mr. Titonidae Wilden, 32 years-old and lists an address in Aptos. 

We found him riding a stolen bicycle that had been taken about two weeks prior.  After some follow up work, we knew he would be riding a stolen bicycle, we just had to find him. 

The bike is an $1,800 Surly Moonlander.

The victim did not report the theft until several days after the theft occurred.  Between the date of the theft and the date of the report, we learned our suspect had listed the bicycle on Craigslist for $1,500.  Not only that, but he came to the police department and registered the bike in his name!  He used that to add "legitimacy" to his Craigslist ad. 

Had the bike been previously registered, or the theft reported immediately, we would have arrested Mr. Wilden as he rode up to the self-service “please arrest me” window.  

Fortunately, all ended well with the bike recovered and returned to the victim and Mr. Wilden off to jail.

If you see Mr. Wilden in your neighborhood, his history shows he is a thief.  He also has a history that includes drug violations.  

Please register your bikes and report any thefts to help us in getting your property back to you and avoid scenes like this in the police department property room.