Be On The Lookout For Any Tips To ID These Suspects

Working Together to ID Suspect Prowler Twice Caught on Video!

On 1/21/17 and 1/23/17, this suspect was caught on video surveillance prowling around Laurent St on the Westside. The suspect prowler was wearing the same clothing each time on the videos.

SCPD Westside Patrol & Neighbors are working together to ID this suspect lurking around homes. If you recognize the suspect, contact SCPD (831) 420-5820, Anonymous Tip Line (831) 420-5995 or send us a tip online at www.santacruzpolice.com

Commercial Burglary -  Help Us Catch These Guys!

On 1/23/17 around 6:12 am, three suspects used a battery-operated concrete saw to remove the doors and stole items out of an office and storage shed at Delaveaga Parks and Recreation Department.

The suspects were wearing dark clothing, gloves, and masks over their faces.

They stole various landscaping equipment including Stihl brand 20” chainsaws and Stihl brand air blowers. The suspects also caused about $2000 worth of property damage.

If you can identify the suspects or recognize the stolen property, contact with SCPD Investigations at (831) 420-5820, or send us a tip online at www.santacruzpolice.com Refer to Case 17S-00536

SCPD is dedicated to our community with ongoing efforts to keep Santa Cruz a safe place to live, work and raise a family. Please continue to contact SCPD when suspicious activity occurs in your neighborhood.

Alert Citizen Helps us Capture 4 Suspects Breaking Into His Car

4 Suspects were arrested after a homeowner caught them breaking into his car at approximately 4:35 AM this morning.  This all happened on Pelton Ave when the homeowner was awakened by the sound of our suspects breaking into his car.  They called 9-1-1 and got a good description of the suspects and their minivan getaway car. 

Johnny on the spot was Officer Denise Cockrum who found the getaway mobile trying to flee the area several blocks away.  A car stop ensued and all four occupants of the getaway car were contacted.  Property taken from the victim’s car was recovered in the suspect’s car.  Two of the passengers were identified by the victim as having been in his car. 

When we asked the suspects who claimed the property that we recognized as having been taken from the victim’s car….. Mr. Sergio Moro was kind enough to tell us the victim’s property was his.  Mr. Moro is a 22 year old Santa Cruz resident. 

The getaway driver was Ms. Tahja Birney.  She is a 20 year old Santa Cruz resident

In addition to being the getaway driver, she was found in possession of several ounces of marijuana and prescription muscle relaxers, of which she did not have said prescription. 

Two 17 year old male juveniles from Watsonville were also in the car.  One of the juveniles was identified as a Norteno gang member and had a warrant for his arrest.   The other had a warrant from the Juvenile court and was also wanted for cutting off his monitoring bracelet. 

Mr. Moro was booked into jail for (1) Conspiracy to commit a crime, Contributing to the delinquency of minors, and (3) Possession of stolen property.  Ms. Birney was booked into jail for (1) Conspiracy to commit a crime, (2) Contributing to the delinquency of minors and (3) Possession of prescription medication without the prescription. 

Great work by our alert citizens and great job of getting a good description; helping us do our work....and Great work by Officer Cockrum!  

Fresh From This Weekekend....Cornucopia of Crooks Captured and Confounded

A few highlights from our busy weekend here in the original Surf City.

Case #1 

On Saturday May 17^th just after Noon, two Sacramento women were arrested after stealing wallets from unsuspecting shoppers at Costco.

You have always heard warnings about not leaving your valuables unattended.  These videos will show you why……Watch how quickly an intent thief can steal your wallet. This video shows our suspect making two attempts:

In this video, our suspect makes one attempt, but then is successful when the purse is finally left unattended.  Watch how quickly she moves in when the opportunity presents itself.  

It doesn’t take long!  Fortunately, the Costco security team was on it!  If you are going to be a thief….Costco isn’t the place to try it.  The security team and cameras at Costco are outstanding!!! 

Here is a still shot of her attempting to take a wallet from a purse that is closed.

Here is a still of that video as she took a wallet from an open purse.

Our two thieves tried to flee from Costco security, but were captured when our officers arrived.  

These two were booked into Santa Cruz County Jail for Conspiracy to Commit Burglary (it is a burglary since they entered the store with the intent to commit theft), and Possession of Stolen Property.

Iesha Brown – 20 years old, Sacramento resident

Synsaysha Thomas – 20 years old, Sacramento resident

Synsaysha Thomas tried to identify herself as another person, so… as a value-added service, we also charged her with False Personation of another.

The stolen wallet was returned to the victim and the two out-of-town thieves are in jail.

Case #2 

Case #2 involves words exchanged in passing that evolved into a fistfight and ended as a stabbing in the parking lot of 7-11 on Mission and Swift Street.  This all happened on Friday night May 17^th at around 10:50 PM.  Arrested were these two suspects

Gabriel Vegas – 19 years old, Campbell resident

Christopher Amato – 22 years old, San Bruno resident

As the story unfolds, we learned our 42 year old victim was confronted by a younger group that included 19 year old Gabriel Vegas and 22 year old Christopher Amato.  Words were exchanged and our victim found himself being attacked.  In the course of the attack, he was stabbed by Mr. Vegas.  The victim sustained non-life-threatening wounds to his face and leg. 

As Officers charged to the scene, they attended to the victim and broadcast suspect descriptions.  Officer Fincutter spotted the suspects fleeing in a silver Toyota Camry southbound at the Highway 1 bypass.

Suspect Vegas was determined to be the stabber.  He tried to deny his involvement until video from the business told us a different story.

Both suspects were arrested and the knife used in the attack was recovered from inside the suspect’s car.  Also recovered from the suspect’s car was a Glock .45 caliber handgun registered to Amato, and some amphetamines.  Solid work by our patrol teams!

Case #3

And Finally…Case #3 involves a burglar making her way through an Eastside neighborhood on Saturday morning May 17^th at around 9:00 AM. Thanks to alert neighbors and quick phone call to 9-1-1, the following burglar was arrested:

Candace Jones – 32 years old, Boulder Creek resident

Ms. Jones was first spotted in the 100 block of Fernside where she entered a home and was confronted by the resident.  They called 9-1-1 and the troops were headed to the area.

Meanwhile, another call came from a resident also in the 100 block of Fernside where Ms. Jones was seen inside a vehicle that was not hers.

As officers were circulating the area, a final call came in from the 200 block of Brookside where Ms. Jones was cornered inside a car where she was caught rummaging through the interior.  The residents were alerted by a motion sensor alarm.  Ms. Jones was trapped by two of the residents as our officers arrived to take custody of her.

Turns out she had a little over $800 in cash, two sets of car keys that belonged to residents in the area, and a garage door opener to a home in the area.   We also recovered a pretty expensive bicycle taken from a garage of one of the homes.

Great work by this neighborhood….calling in that suspicious activity and capturing the suspect!!!

Ms. Jones has a storied history with us.  She has previous arrests for theft, burglary and auto theft.  She is on felony probation with a term that includes, of all things….do not possess keys that are not yours!  We feel like we have her pretty solid on that one!!

And that’s your Weekend Wrap!   

Easter Weekend Roundup With 3 Cases of Interest

The Easter weekend found the Santa Cruz Police Department responding to 837 calls for service around the community.  We were hoppin' around from call-to-call like the Easter Bunny!!  Among the weekend excitement were these three incidents: 

Burglary suspects caught after breaking into Santa Cruz Floral on Ocean Street. 

Early Saturday morning around 3:15 AM, we responded to an alarm at the floral shop.  We found the glass front door to the business broken and a glass door to a cooler inside the business smashed. 

Alert community members called in a description of a grey 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer seen leaving the area.  It was a great tip, as we found the car at the Chevron station @ Ocean and Water Street.  Seems our suspects forgot to fill up prior to committing the heist and trying to get out of town.

In and around the car were these four, with the “wheelman”, Mr. Timney “fillin’ ‘er up”.  

Matthew Timney - 20 Years - Castro Valley, CA

Rebecka Quezada - 18 Years - Castro Valley, CA

 

Diego Delgado - 19 Years - San Leandro, CA

Landon Spearman III - 18 Years - Castro Valley, CA

Seems these three traveled from out of town to attend a party.  During their stay they decided to burglarize the floral business.  We're not sure who they intended the flowers for.  

Three of the four are from Castro Valley, with the fourth being from San Leandro.  All four had glass shards in their shoes after walking through the broken glass from the front door, and then breaking the glass door on a cooler inside the business.  Our four suspects were found with stolen property from the florist in the car with them.  Ms. Quezada also had some prescription narcotics (that she doesn’t have a prescription for) in her possession.   All four were booked into County Jail for charges related to this burglary. 

Citizens Help Store Security Capture Theft Suspect

On Saturday April 19^th around 5:30 PM, three family members were finishing up the classic run to the grocery store at Safeway on Morrissey, when they noticed store security fighting with a theft suspect.  The Good Samaritans wasted no time and jumped into action assisting the long arm of the law. Thanks to their efforts, this guy is in custody:

James Wentworth - 33 Years - Transient

Our suspect, Mr. James Wentworth, broke free and fled through the Post Office and eventually into a neighborhood.

Undeterred, the family gave chase through backyards and over fences.  Mr. Wentworth attempted to deliver a knuckle sandwich to one of the family members but quickly found it was “returned to sender”..... with more effective results.  After knocking Mr. Wentworth down, the rest of the family arrived to help hold him down.  The cavalry arrived and transported Mr. Wentworth to jail.   

Three cheers and high-fives all around to this family for their help.  Mr. Wentworth lists his address as 115 Coral Street or "transient".  He recently arrived in town and has already established a record of contacts and arrests. 

Question:  Dude….Where’s My Cellphone?

Answer:  In the suspect’s pocket

Our victims in this case left their car parked in the 500 block of Water Street on Saturday April 20^th at around 11:00 PM.  When our victims returned to their car about 15 minutes later, they discovered they had left the sunroof open and their cell phones were missing from the car.  They used another friend’s cell phone to access the cell phone tracker on one of the stolen phones.   

When our officer arrived, they tracked the phone to Ocean and Franklin Streets, (just a few blocks up). 

We radioed additional officers who attempted to stop our suspect, Mr. Evan Hunt.  Mr. Hunt is 20 years old and lists his address as 115 Coral Street.  Mr. Hunt was arrested and/or cited 7 times in 2013. 

Evan Hunt - 20 Years - Transient

Mr. Hunt was on a bicycle and took off.  The chase was on!!! 

Over the river and through the woods, we chased Mr. Hunt until our Canine Argus corralled him near the end of Pryce Street.  Good Boy Argus!!!  Here is Argus in action at a recent training! 

Mr. Hunt was found in possession of the phone that had the tracking software.  The other phone is still missing.  Also found in Mr. Hunt’s possession was a pair of bolt cutters. 

Mr. Hunt was booked into County Jail for Possession of Stolen Property, Resisting Arrest, and Possession of Burglary Tools.  

Folks....That's a wrap on our Easter Weekend!