SCPD Arrest Two Suspects for Drugs & Stolen Property -Thanks to Alert Citizen!

On Friday 3/18/16, at approximately 10:05 am, an alert citizen called 911 to report a suspicious person sitting in a white Mazda Miata in the 200 block of First Street. The concerned citizen suspected drug activity was occurring when two women approached the car and made a “hand to hand” transaction. One of the women in the suspected drug interaction was described as wearing hospital scrubs.

Tilden Ball, 31 years old, transient from Santa Cruz 

Responding SCPD Officers arrived and contacted the occupant in the car, Tilden Ball. Mr. Ball who was sitting in the driver’s seat said that the car belonged to friend. He claimed to be waiting for her return. As it turns out, Tilden Ball, 31 years old, transient from Santa Cruz had a parole hold warrant for his arrest. Tilden Ball had multiple knives and methamphetamine on his person when SCPD Officers detained him.

Photo of some of the  drugs, drug paraphernalia, and suspected stolen credit cards including an embosser machine used to alter credit/debit cards.

SCPD Officers searched the car and located 100’s of syringes, drug paraphernalia, checks, credit cards, gift cards and other stolen or forged property. Officers also discovered an embosser machine used to alter and manufacturer credit cards in the car.

Elizabeth Escamilla, 30 years old from Watsonville 

While SCPD Officers were searching the car, Elizabeth Escamilla approached them and stated the Mazda Miata was her car. Elizabeth Escamilla, 30 years old from Watsonville was wearing hospital scrubs that matched the description given in the initial report to the police. SCPD Officers found in the car numerous articles of evidence that link together Tilden Ball and Elizabeth Escamilla. 

A large amount of suspected stolen property including mail, passports, drivers licenses, checks, credit/debit cards, credit card making devices, drugs, and drug paraphernalia were located and collected from the car. SCPD Detectives are currently working on sorting through the evidence to identify a number of victims.

Tilden Ball and Elizabeth Escamilla were arrested for multiple charges including a parole hold, forgery, fraud, possession of stolen property, possession of narcotics, paraphernalia and conspiracy to commit a crime. Ms. Escamilla's car was impounded.

Thank you to the alert citizen for watching out for their neighborhood & calling 911.

The Santa Cruz Police Department continues to encourage residents to be partners in public safety. Anyone with information regarding criminal activity is encouraged to contact the Santa Cruz Police Department at (831) 420-5820 or Anonymous Tip Line (831) 420-5995.

SCPD Patrol Officers Arrest Parolee with a firearm, drugs and burglary tools.

On Friday 12/18/15 at about 10:15 am, Santa Cruz Police Officers followed up on a tip about a suspicious car with a driver in possession of a firearm. The tip contained a vague vehicle description and partial license plate. An alert SCPD Officer located a white Nissan Altima car near Bellevue Street and Seaside Street. A team of SCPD Officers contacted Mr. James Smith who was seen in and around the car. James Smith was out on parole and he is the registered owner of the car.

James Smith, 22, from Santa Cruz was found in possession of a large bindle of heroin and a digital scale in his pants pocket.

Officers also located an unloaded .22 caliber ATI handgun in his car. In the back seat of the car Officers located a magazine for the gun and additional ammo.

In a further search of the car, SCPD officers located numerous burglary tools including bolt cutters, torch, air bag car door opener, and flashlights.

In addition to the gun, drugs, narcotic sales paraphernalia and burglary tools; SCPD Officers also found other property that does not belong to Mr. Smith. Officers are working to determine if those items were stolen. 

James Smith was taken into custody without incident. Mr. Smith was booked into jail for possession of a firearm, possession of narcotics for sale, possession of burglary tools and parole violation.

The Santa Cruz Police Department continues to encourage residents to be partners in public safety. Anyone with information regarding suspicious or criminal activity is encouraged to contact the Santa Cruz Police Department.

Local Photographer Captures Snapshot of SCPD’s Good Work

Thank you Tarmo for Note & Photo!

Background:
On Tuesday August 18th, at approximately 9:30am, a Santa Cruz Police Officer responded to a call in the area of Soquel Avenue and Park Way for a welfare check on a suspected intoxicated woman lying on the ground. While in route to the location, Dispatch advised that another citizen had called to report a disturbance at the same location. This caller/ witness reported hearing calls for help and went to assist the woman. The victim, a women described that a man standing nearby had harassed her, rummaged through her belongings and took some items.

The suspect man, later identified as Nolan West, age 24 from Lompico CA, was agitated, shirtless and pacing erratically near a bus stop on a high traffic street. When questioned by the officer, Mr. West responses were incoherent and he began to demonstrate increasingly violent behaviors. West continued to refuse and/or could not make sense of the request to be detained.

Out of concern for Mr. West and the public’s safety, additional officers responded and assisted with the arrest of the Nolan West for 211 PC; Robbery and 148(a) PC; Resisting Arrest.  Due to the suspects resistance with Officers, The Wrap was utilized during this incident. The WRAP is a safety restraint, designed to protect subjects, officers and staff by reducing the possibility of injury. The WRAP is designed to restrain a person in a more comfortable seated upright position.

Tarmo Hannula - Photographer with the Registar Pajaronian happened to be nearby the scene as it unfolded. This is the message and photo shown above that we received from him. “ These officers were up against a violently out of control man (most likely methed out?) this morning at Soquel Ave. at Park Way. He fought every inch of the way following some form of attempted robbery of a female (I think). Though his resistance was fierce, smashing his head on the sidewalk, etc., the officers remained calm, telling him to relax, that they were trying to help him, not hurt him. It appeared nothing but professional to me, right in the middle of a very volatile situation. Quite scary! From my point of view it seemed like these officers handled this extremely well. The officer at the left did an outstanding job of verbally working this guy down, using smart and effective language to defuse things. The man was safely put into an ambulance. Thought you'd like to know. Tarmo”

Thank you Tarmo for recognizing SCPD's efforts and for taking the time to send us the note and photo. This is an everyday snapshot example of the good work SCPD officers do.

SCPD NET & SC Co Anti-Crime Team join forces again. They STOPPED $42,000 of drugs from hitting our streets.

On July 10, 2015 at about 10:30 AM, the Santa Cruz Police Neighborhood Enforcement Team stopped a vehicle driven by Gabriel Guzman on HWY 17 in Scotts Valley. During the stop, Mr. Guzman was found to be in possession of 2.2 ounces of heroin, 1 ounce of methamphetamine, and 4 grams of cocaine. Guzman was also in possession of about $16,000 cash.

Gabriel Guzman, 41 years old and a resident of Vacaville, California.

After the discovery of the narcotics Guzman was transporting, a search warrant was served at Guzman’s residence in Vacaville, CA by the Neighborhood Enforcement Team with the assistance of the Santa Cruz County Anti-Crime Team. During this search warrant officers found at the suspect’s residence in Vacaville:
9.1 ounces of cocaine,
6.2 ounces of methamphetamine,
1.4 ounces of marijuana,
0 .6 ounces of heroin.
Three firearms were recovered from the residence, one of which had been reported stolen from Washington. $12,000 cash was also located in the residence.

In all, the drugs seized during the traffic stop plus the house warrant carries a street value of approximately $42,000. The cash seized from the traffic stop and the house warrant totaled $28,000.

Guzman was arrested for (1) 11351HS - possession of cocaine for sale, (2) 11351HS - possession of heroin for sale, (3) 11352(a)HS – transport narcotics, (4) 11352(b)HS – transport narcotics between counties, (6) 11378HS – possession of methamphetamine for sale, 11379(a)HS – transport methamphetamine, (7) 11379(b)HS – transport methamphetamine between counties.

This successful drug arrest is due to the combined logistics of the Santa Cruz Police Neighborhood Enforcement Team and the Santa Cruz County Anti-Crime Team.

This is a continuing effort to keep Santa Cruz a safe place to live, work, and raise a family.

17 Pounds of Marijuana Seized As Suspects Attempt to Flee From Hotel Room

The moral of this story is simple…..when attempting to traffic marijuana out of your hotel room:

A)   Don’t smoke your own product

B)   Don’t Rent a “non-smoking room” if you choose to ignore “A”

C)  Just don’t traffic marijuana in our town

D)   All of the above

On Monday May 26, 2014, these three were arrested for drug related charges:  Here they are:

Christopher Hudson - 20 Years Aptos Resident

Chance Martinez - 19 Years, Soquel Resident

Tyrelle Antwine - 18 Years, Capitola Resident

At around 6:15 PM, our officers responded to a report of smoke coming from a room at a hotel in the beach area.  The staff was concerned as there was a significant amount of smoke coming from a “non-smoking” room.  This was not the kind of smoke you call the Fire Department for, but rather marijuana smoke.  

When we arrived, we concurred with “that smell” and learned the person who rented the room, Christian Hudson, was currently on probation for…..(drumroll please)…..marijuana sales.

We first arrived at around 6:15 PM and no one was in the room at the time.  Our patrol team devised a plan and waited for the suspects to come back to their room.

At around 7:00 PM our suspects returned and we came knocking…with a key, of course.

Our suspects headed out to their balcony that bordered a 4^th floor roof.  The suspects jumped from their balcony onto the rooftop to escape. Big risk, considering Cowell’s beach was 4 stories below if they missed.  Here is their balcony: 

Watch that first step....it's a LuLu

They eventually made it to their car where they found that all their effort was for naught, as we had officers hiding in the bushes with a police canine (Argus the wonder dog).  In case you need to see Argus in action again…here he is.    

Along their route of escape, our suspect left behind a couple of duffel bags filled with bags and jars of marijuana.   

Also in the room, we found more jars of marijuana conveniently labeled. 

In all, just over 17 Pounds of marijuana was seized and over $1,700 in cash.  The cash was neatly banded together in roughly similar amounts. 

Just some of the cash recovered

All Three suspects went to jail for Possession of Marijuana for Sales, and Resisting Arrest.  Mr. Hudson received the additional charge of Violation of Probation. 

Great Work by Our Detectives - Elder Abuse and Drug House Shut Down

On Thursday June 13, 2013, Santa Cruz Police Detectives served a search warrant at a home in the 400 block of La Fonda Avenue.

The search warrant was issued as Detectives were investigating tips of illegal drug sales, elder abuse and a possible chop shop for bicycles at the home.

Detectives found the owner of the residence, a 59 year old dependent adult, lying in his own urine and feces. The 59 year old owner of the property is wheelchair bound.  Due to his health and the deplorable condition of the house, he was hospitalized for observation and care.

It was determined the individuals staying at the residence were taking advantage of the homeowner.  Numerous people were coming and going from the house and using the home as a base to conduct criminal activity. Additionally, the individuals failed to provide the most basic of care for the dependent homeowner.

In the course of the search warrant, Detectives found over 30 intact bicycles and over 50 dismantled bicycles on the property. Other property was seized and being processed to determine ownership status.

Seven individuals were contacted and arrested for numerous charges including sales of heroin and methamphetamine, illegal drug possession, drug paraphernalia and elder abuse.

Detectives worked closely with the city Planning Department and Code Compliance.  The house was red-tagged with over a dozen violations making the home inhabitable.  

Here are the arrestees:

Shana DiMartino – 37 yrs Santa Cruz Resident 

Arrested for (1) Possession of Heroin-11350H&S, (2) Possession of Drug Paraphernalia -  11364.1 H&S, (3) Probation Violation-1203.2PC, (4) Elder Abuse-368PC, (5) Maintain Drug House- 11366 H&S, (6) Failure to Report Elder Abuse-15630(h) W&I and  (6) Violating a Court Order-166PC.

Susan Husted – 49 yrs, Santa Cruz Resident

Arrested for (1) Elder Abuse-368PC, (2) Failure to Report Elder Abuse-15630(h) W&I, (3) Probation Violation-1203.2PC, (4) Maintain Drug House- 11366 H&S and (5) 166PC- violating a court order.

John Dowden – 52 yrs, Santa Cruz Resident 

Arrested for (1) Possession of Methamphetamine-11377 H&S, (2) Elder Abuse- 368PC, (3) Possession of Drug Paraphernalia-11364.1 H&S, (4) Failure to Report Elder Abuse-15630(h) W&I, and (5) Probation Violation-1203.2PC.

Adelma Dowden – 48 yrs, Santa Cruz Resident 

 Arrested for misdemeanor warrant-485PC, elder abuse- 368PC, possession of stolen property- 496PC, trespassing- 602PC, failure to report elder abuse-15630(h) W&I, maintain drug house- 11366 H&S,  and probation violation-1203.2PC

Aaron Hamrick – 37 yrs, Santa Cruz Resident

Arrested for (1) Possession of Narcotics for Sale- 11351H&S,  (2) Transporting Narcotics-11352H&S, (3) Selling Within 1000 feet of a School- 11353.6 H&S, (4) Possession of Controlled Substance for Sale-11378H&S, (5) Transporting a Controlled Substance-11379H&S, (6) Felon in Possession of a Stun Gun-22610(A)PC, (7) Failure to Report Elder Abuse-15630(h) W&I, (8) Elder Abuse- 368PC and (9) Maintain Drug House- 11366 H&S

Perry Brown – 42 yrs, santa Cruz Resident 

Arrested for outstanding warrants

Jodi Widman – 30 yrs, Santa Cruz Resident 

Arrested for (1) Possession of Methamphetamine 11377H&S, (2) Possession of Heroin 11350 H&S, and (3) 148PC – Resisting Arrest/Delaying an Officer.

Thanks to our tipsters and the hard work of our Detectives for shutting down this neighborhood nuisance, and for getting the victim the care he needs.  Keep those tips coming and we'll keep working the cases.