Keeping Santa Cruz Safe: SCPD Officers Successfully Deescalate Incident - Arrest Man With Gun Who Threatened Juvenile

On Saturday, March 17th, 2018 at 3:15 pm, Santa Cruz Police Officers responded the 800 block of Pacific Avenue regarding a male adult who flashed a gun at a juvenile. The suspect threatened the juvenile with a firearm stating that he would “blow his brains out.” The subject was described as a white male adult with a blonde beard and wearing a multi-colored shirt. He was reportedly last seen walking on Pacific Avenue towards Maple Street.

Officer Badeo and Sergeant Azua immediately located the subject on Maple Street. When the officers approached, the suspect quickly turned away from the officers and reached for the suspected gun in the waistband area of his pants. The responding officers un-holstered their department-issued firearms and gave commands for the man to stop. The subject, later identified as Jeffrey Greer, 28 years old, from Boulder Creek, pulled out a black pistol from his waistband.

Jeffrey Greer, 28 years old, from Boulder Creek

Initially, Mr. Greer did not comply with the multiple orders from the officers to drop the gun. Eventually, officers were able to de-escalate Mr. Greer’s stance. He complied, dropped the gun and surrendered. The black pistol that Mr. Greer had in his possession turned out to be a BB gun/Airsoft gun replicated in the make and model of Smith and Wesson M&P.

Said Police Chief Andrew Mills, “ I commend my officers for their restraint and patience during incidents like this. I can’t applaud these officers enough for their use of training, judgment, and teamwork to deescalate this potentially life-threatening situation.”

Santa Cruz Police placed Jeffrey Greer into custody for these listed charges; criminal threat with intent to terrorize, alteration and display of an imitation firearm in public and committing a felony while released on bail.

Gun & Drugs Off The Street -SCPD Weekend Cases of Interest

ONE MORE GUN OFF THE STREET
SCPD Arrest Teen Gang Member with Loaded Handgun

A 16-year-old Santa Cruz gang member was arrested for possession of a concealed loaded firearm and probation violation. 

On March 11th about 10:00 pm, while on routine patrol , an SCPD officer observed the suspect juvenile male in the area of Foster Freeze on Laurel Street. The juvenile is a known gang member and is on probation The teen has had multiple contacts in the past with law enforcement.

When the officers approached, the suspect immediately turned away from the officers and reached for the waistband area of his pants. SCPD officers believed he had a weapon and placed the suspect in custody. A search of the juvenile recovered a loaded firearm found in the suspect’s waist area.

Officers arrested the 16-year-old juvenile from Santa Cruz and charged him with probation violations, possession of a loaded firearm in public, possession of a loaded, concealed firearm and participating in a criminal street gang.

24 Grams of Methamphetamine Off the Street

On 3/12/17 at approximately 11:11 am, SCPD Officers were patrolling the area of Canfield Ave and San Lorenzo investigating a suspicious tan-colored Toyota Camry without license plates.Officers located the car that matched the description driving through the area and followed it to the 600 block of Riverside Avenue.

During the stop, it was determined the driver Janina Miller-Morales, 27 years old from Davenport, and passenger Zenaido Gomez, 28 years old from Santa Cruz, had outstanding warrants.

 

Janina Miller-Morales, 27 years old from Davenport

 As Ms. Miller was exiting the car, she dropped a methamphetamine pipe on the driver side floorboard. The subsequent search of the vehicle resulted in ten bindles totaling 24 grams of methamphetamine and assorted drug paraphernalia

SCPD officers cited Ms. Miller-Morales and passenger Mr. Gomez for outstanding warrants. Janina Miller-Morales was also arrested for transporting, selling and possession of narcotic controlled substances.

Please continue to contact SCPD when suspicious activity occurs in your neighborhood. -Report suspicious activity to 9-1-1, Anonymous Tip Line (831) 420-5995 or send us a tip online at http://cityofsantacruz.com/departments/police/how-do-i/leave-a-crime-tip

SCPD remains dedicated to our community with ongoing efforts to keep Santa Cruz a safe place to live, work and raise a family.

Citizen Tip and a Car Stop Lead to a Recovered Gun and Arrest

On Friday night April 8^th at approximately 11:20 PM, patrol officers responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle in the area of La Fonda Ave and Prospect Heights.   Officers located this car that matched the description driving through the area. 

A routine check of the license showed the registration expired in May 2015, even though it was displaying a tab for 2016.  Officers stopped the car in the 800 block of Prospect Heights to investigate. 

During the stop, it was determined the driver had a suspended driver’s license.  Both the driver and one of his two passengers were on probation with active search terms. 

Officers also contacted Mr. Denzel Sumpter who was a passenger in the right rear seat of the car.  Mr. Sumpter was uncooperative and continually fidgeted with his pockets and waistband of his pants.  As officers attempted to pat-search Mr. Sumpter, he broke away and ran from them.  Officers caught Mr. Sumpter near Morrissey Blvd and Prospect Heights.  During the struggle, Mr. Sumpter discarded a firearm that landed in the middle of the street. 

After a prolonged struggle, officers took Mr. Sumpter into custody and recovered the firearm. 

The firearm is a Kel Tec 9mm handgun.  Officers noticed the serial number had been partially removed from the firearm as shown here:

Back at the vehicle, Officers located several rounds of 9mm ammunition and an extended magazine for the firearm.  Officers also seized a small amount of marijuana from the car. 

The driver of the car was cited for driving on a suspended driver’s license and the car was towed.  

Mr. Denzel Sumpter, (23 years old - Oakland resident) was booked into County Jail for charges related to possession of the firearm including the illegal magazine and serial number that had been removed.  He was also charged with resisting arrest. 

Another Gun and Felons off the Streets

All in a Day’s Work for the SCPD Neighborhood Enforcement Team (NET).  Another felon and another gun off the streets thanks to their hard work and street savvy.   

Last week NET was working a surveillance detail when... out of the blue, they spotted our suspect Mr. Jeremy Pineda - 32 years old. 

Mr. Pineda is known to our officers as someone with a long criminal history chalked full of felony convictions, including auto theft and being a felon in possession of a firearm.  He’s a legitimate Probation All Star. 

Our officers stopped Mr. Pineda and found he had a warrant out of Santa Clara County.  A subsequent search of his car found a loaded .45 caliber handgun.  Turns out, the handgun was stolen in May during a residential burglary here in Santa Cruz.    

Mr. Pineda was arrested and booked into jail for his outstanding warrant, and a host of gun charges to include being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Thankfully, the on-call judge granted our request for a bail increase from $50,000 to $200,000.   

While we were at it, we contacted Mr. Pineda’s female acquaintance, Ms. Fallon Feurtado – 23 year old. 

She too is on probation 2x over for drug convictions.  She was subject to search as a term of her probation so we obliged and searched her motel room at the Mission Inn.  We found heroin and paraphernalia in the room.  Ms. Feurtado was booked into jail for violating her probation and drug possession charges. 

Great Patrol Work Takes 2 Guns and 3 Suspects Off The Streets

Over the past week, our patrol teams have taken two guns off the streets from gangsters.

The first case involved our Neighborhood Enforcement Team tracking down a suspect with a felony drug warrant.  The suspect, Andrew Villa was found in an apartment in the 300 block of Cliff Street.   After taking him into custody, a search of his belongings discovered this unregistered .22 caliber revolver. 

Mr. Villa was booked into jail for his warrant, being a felon in possession of a firearm, as well as the enhancement for being involved in a criminal street gang.  Here is his booking photo

Mr. Villa is a Sureno gang member.  Mr. Villa is a 19 year old Santa Cruz resident.  

In the second case, our officer spotted a known Sureno gang member and gang associate near Ocean and Broadway.  Our officer knew the gangster, Mr. Jonathan Luis and also knew he had an outstanding warrant for his arrest. 

Our officer contacted Mr. Luis and his juvenile associate.  Mr. Luis was arrested for his warrant.    

 Mr. Luis is an 18 year old Santa Cruz resident. 

The young Padawan (on his way to being a full-fledged, card-carrying gangster) was contacted for what we call a “Field Interview”.  That’s where we document who they are, tattoos, gang clothing, associates, etc. 

Thankfully, our officer searched the juvenile because in his waistband was this loaded .22 caliber revolver with the serial number removed. 

 Once we discovered the gun, the fight was on.  Our officer successfully restrained the suspect and removed the firearm. 

We won’t identify him, because he is a 15 year old juvenile, but rest assured his conduct is every bit as concerning as any adult.  The juvenile was booked into Juvenile Hall for being in possession of a loaded firearm, as well as being in possession of a firearm that has the serial numbers removed. The juvenile is a 15 year old Watsonville resident. 

Once again, great intuition and follow through by our patrol teams; taking dangerous people and weapons off the streets.   

Great Patrol Work Takes a Stolen Gun Off The Street and Puts a Suspect In Jail

Our Officer was “Johnny On The Spot” early Wednesday morning as he was on patrol in the Downtown. 

Don’t let this photo fool you, Officer Cathrein (pronounced Kah-Train) has cat-like reflexes and Ninja skills!

Those skills resulted in the arrest of 20 year old Joshua Tomasian of Milpitas for possession of a loaded and stolen handgun, possession of cocaine, and drug paraphernalia. 

At about 1:30 in the morning, Officer Cathrein was driving south on Front Street near Soquel when the sounds of an argument caught his attention.  As he contacts one of the involved parties in a parking lot, he quickly realizes this is more than just a disagreement among gentlemen! 

The victim tells Officer Cathrein that three suspects confronted him and one of them brandished a handgun.  As Officer Cathrein is getting this information, the suspects are trying to flee in their car.

Not to be deterred, Officer Catherein gives chase and stops the car near Riverside and Broadway.    Since there was the possibility of weapons, we conducted a high-risk style car stop.  This is serious business, where we shut down traffic and the occupants of the getaway car are brought out at gunpoint. 

Inside the car was a loaded Sig Sauer .380 caliber handgun.  

Mr. Tomasian was identified as the suspect who brandished the handgun during the confrontation.  He was also found with cocaine in his possession. 

According to our suspect, he and his other two friends were here in Santa Cruz to visit friends and decided to take a drive to try and buy marijuana.  He and the victim couldn’t agree on how the sale would go down.  Somewhere in there, Mr. Tomasian decided it was a good idea to brandish his stolen handgun.  Of course, our victim knows nothing about a marijuana transaction, and he himself has a storied history of contact with our patrol staff.   

Turns out the gun was reported stolen out of Sunnyvale two weeks ago.  Mr Tomasian claimed he bought the gun on the streets of San Jose from some guy named “Paco”……Really???.....“Paco”.    

The two other car occupants were a 27 year-old from Fremont and an 18 year-old from San Jose.  There was nothing to charge them with, so they were questioned and released.  

Bottom Line….Outstanding work by Officer Cathrein and the rest of his patrol team!!!