Cops and Courts

Three men, armed with a knife and a gun, robbed a man near the intersection of Dufour Street and Graham Avenue just before 10 p.m. Tuesday, police reported.

The man reportedly told police that three men in their 20s confronted him while he walked. One aimed a black handgun at him while a second another pointed a knife at the victim’s chest. He gave them some cash and they fled on foot, police said.

Several officers responded and searched the area. A Sheriff’s Office police dog was also dispatched to the scene and tracked the robbers to the intersection of Bethany Curve and Delaware Street, but lost the scent, police said.

No injuries were reported. Police said they have no suspects and there were no known witnesses to the robbery.

The robber wielding the gun was about 5 feet 2 inches tall and 130 pounds wearing a gray sweatshirt with black on it and an orange hat. The robber with the knife was about 5 feet 3 inches tall, also 130 pounds, wearing a gray sweatshirt. The third robber was about 6 feet tall and 170 pounds wearing a black sweater and a hat with a skateboard, police reported.

An argument on a Live Oak street took a bizarre twist Tuesday afternoon when a man with a gun allegedly threatened the driver of a green pickup and was nearly run over, authorities reported.

Details about the fight were sketchy, but apparently around 4:40 p.m. the two men started arguing on Seventh Street. One had a weapon — likely a gun, but one witness reported seeing a knife — in the waistband of his pants. A witness told 911 dispatchers the driver yelled “Go ahead and shoot me” at the man, but then drove his pickup at him.

No injuries were reported. Both men fled before sheriff’s deputies and California Highway Patrol officers got to the scene.

A former Live Oak man on parole was indicted by a grand jury for two separate stabbings in downtown Santa Cruz, according to police.

Miguel Anthony Ramirez, 24, was arrested at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga in March on a warrant for one of the stabbings and brought to Santa Cruz County Jail, according to jail records.

Thursday, he was re-booked into jail, this time on two counts of attempted murder and two counts of having served prior prison terms. His bail was set at $1 million, according to jail records.

Ramirez is accused of being involved in a bloody fight outside a bar on Cedar Street in March 2008 that left another man clinging to life. He was arrested after but not prosecuted. Instead, Ramirez sent to prison for one year for violating the terms of his parole. During his incarceration, police developed leads that allegedly link Ramirez to a stabbing on Pacific Avenue in December 2007.

Investigators have not discussed the motives for either crime.

The county District Attorney’s Office asked the state Attorney General’s Office to handle the prosecution because of a conflict, which has not been disclosed.

By Cathy Kelly/Sentinel reporter

An unknown arsonist set three vehicles on fire early Friday, police reported.

In the first incident, police and firefighters responded to a reported vehicle fire near Prospect Heights and Park Way about 2:30 a.m., and about five minutes later, a second car fire was reported near Market and Grant streets, police Spokesman Zach Friend said.

While investigating the Market Street fire, an officer found a second car in that area which had been tampered with, Friend said. A makeshift fuse had been lit, but it did not damage the vehicle, he said.

A Santa Cruz Fire investigator confirmed the incidents were arson, and said it appeared that the suspect placed an ignition source in the gas tank filler tubes, Friend said.

The two vehicles on Market Street sustained very minor damage, Friend said, while the one on Prospect Heights sustained moderate damage.

The felony arson case is being investigated, he said, adding that no immediate suspect descriptions were available. Two trucks and a car were targeted, Friend said, and there was no indication of links between them or why those particular vehicles were tampered with.

By Cathy Kelly/Sentinel reporter

Police Friday continued to track down leads in an effort to uncover who stabbed a man to death in a field Wednesday evening beside the levee near River Park, police said.

Jose Barajas, 44, died after suffering stab wounds to his neck and torso in what police called a “very violent crime.”

Barajas often stayed in nearby homeless encampments or shelters, police said. Earlier Wednesday, he had reported that someone stole his bike, by force, and that the same person had taken $200 from him a few days prior.

Detectives are investigating that report as a possible murder motive, Sgt. Saul Gonzalez said Friday.

Though Barajas was attacked before dark, no good witnesses have stepped forward, he said.

Some weapons were found at the scene, but it’s not yet known whether they were involved, Gonzalez said.

Some evidence was sent to a state crime lab and will take about two weeks to analyze, he said, and an autopsy will be completed today.

“It’s going slower than we would like,” Gonzalez said. “But we are taking a different direction and still have leads to investigate.”

ELKHORN
Fake sheriff’s log: Spaceship reported vandalized
It wasn’t your typical vehicle burglary. Nothing taken from the glove box. No sound system ripped from the dashboard.
Then again it wasn’t your typical vehicle, as reported Tuesday on the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office patrol log, unless Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith, attired in black, were on some kind of new adventure in the North Monterey County hills.
According to the sheriff’s log, a deputy took a report Monday afternoon from an Elkhorn resident who was upset that someone had entered his unlocked spaceship and ransacked the vehicle.
Fortunately, the log noted dryly, “Nothing was missing, and there was no damage to the laser gun.”
But the truth about the unusual crime was neither “out there” or inside the troubled mind of a deluded spaceship owner.
A Monterey County Sheriff’s Office spokesman said the log entry had been tampered with after a deputy filed a legitimate report about a “run-of-the-mill” vehicle tampering case.
Cmdr. Mike Richards said he discovered the prank after a reporter requested more information about the spaceship burglary.
Richards said someone “accessed the log” and changed what should have been a routine log entry.
Whether the prankster hacked into the Sheriff’s Office computer system from the outside or the change was made internally wasn’t immediately clear, he said.
“We’re looking into it now,” Richards said.
SANTA CRUZ
Date set for Boulder Creek dog abuse trial
Judge Robert Atack on Tuesday set a trial date of May 19 for Robert Brunette, a man accused of 10 animal neglect charges for his dog breeding operation on his Boulder Creek property.
Brunette faces two felony charges and eight misdemeanors, and a possible four-year prison sentence, if convicted. Animal control officers removed more than 50 dogs from his property off Deer Creek Road, after responding to a neighbor’s complaint in July.
Brunette, 45, is representing himself, and had requested six more weeks to prepare his case. The prosecutor is Steve Moore.
FELTON

Men arrested with drugs, guns being investigated for robbery
Deputies are considering adding robbery allegations to drug and weapons charges facing three Salinas men arrested in Felton last week, sheriff’s Sgt. Greg Lansdowne said.
After a follow-up investigation, deputies believe the men came to the Highway 9 and Graham Hill Road area last Wednesday night to buy marijuana and then assaulted the salesman and stole the drugs, Lansdowne said.
Deputies were summoned about 9 p.m., by a report of a fight in the street, and then spotted the men in a car and pulled them over. They found two loaded guns and about a pound of marijuana, Lansdowne said.
Deputies arrested Michael Walraven and Andre Flores, both 18, and Michael Ledezma, 19, on suspicion of carrying loaded firearms in a vehicle and transporting marijuana.
He declined to say where the victim of the robbery lives, out of concern for his safety.
Stealing drugs is still a crime, even though the loot is illegal, because it has value, Lansdowne said. Sheriff’s officials estimated the value at $3,500.
BOULDER CREEK

Rash of burglaries from cars reported
Six reports of thefts from unlocked cars were reported recently in the Boulder Creek area, sheriff’s reports show.
From April 17 through Sunday, four burglaries from cars occurred on South Street, Highland Drive and Highway 9 in Boulder Creek and on Pacific Street and Highway 9 in Brookdale, deputies reported.
Items stolen included a global positioning system valued at $500.
Unlocked cars are a common target of thieves and law enforcement officials recommend locking cars and not leaving anything of value in sight.
WATSONVILLE

Car overturns on highway shoulder
A 44-year-old Aptos man was hospitalized as a precaution Tuesday morning after his car overturned on Highway 1, the California Highway Patrol reported.
The man was driving south near Main Street/Highway 152 about 8 a.m. when he allowed his Kia Rio to drift off the road, onto the right shoulder and up an embankment, officer Hugh Holden said.
The Rio did a “slow roll” onto its side, Holden said.
The cause of the accident is being investigated, he said.

SANTA CRUZ – A 27-year-old Santa Cruz woman reported that she was the victim of an attempted sexual assault early Monday morning on the 1500 block of Pacific Avenue, according to police.

Officers responded to a report of a woman screaming at 1:10 a.m. on Pacific but were unable to locate anyone, police spokesman Zach Friend said.

Forty minutes later, a woman called saying she fled the scene of the attempted sexual assault on her bike and met with friends before calling police.

According to victim and witness statements, the woman was returning from a downtown bar to pick up her locked bicycle in the 1500 Block of Pacific Avenue. Immediately after unlocking her bike she felt someone come from behind her and grab her, Friend said. The victim screamed for the suspect to get off of her prompting a nearby resident to call police.

The suspect overpowered her, pushed her to the ground and reached up her skirt in an attempt to remove her underwear, Friend said. The victim’s screaming caused a few lights to turn on in a nearby apartment complex, which appeared to scare the suspect away.

The victim said the suspect fled on a bicycle northbound on Pacific Avenue toward Water Street.

Officers canvassed the area from highways 9 and 1 to downtown, including the levee area, but were unable to locate anyone matching the description. Detectives contacted businesses in the area this morning to obtain video footage but were unable to locate anything of “evidentiary value,” Friend said.

The suspect is described as a Latino male, 20 to 30 years old, 5 feet, 5 inches tall, with a medium build, wearing a green plaid jacket and black sweatpants.

The department has not received any recent reports of this type of attack. Santa Cruz Police Department officers intend to increase patrols downtown in the late evening and early morning hours, Friend said.

Police ask anyone with additional information to contact the police investigations at 420-5820 or the anonymous tip line at 420-5995.

Officers responded to reports of multiple gunshots fired on the corner of Leibrandt Avenue and Raymond Street about 9:15 p.m. Saturday.

A witness claimed to have heard gunshots and saw three males running away. Officers found eight shell casings from what initially looks to be a .380 caliber gun. No victims were found, but two unoccupied cars were hit.

Officers are looking for additional witnesses, and said it is unclear if someone was targeted by the attack.

Anyone with information should call Santa Cruz Police at 420-5820.

SOQUEL – Sheriff’s deputies on Monday arrested a woman allegedly running a drug house across the street from Main Street Elementary School.

Sgt. Stephan Fish responded to reports of a drug activity at the home, 5005 Via Gatos, and found the owner, Amy Wehner, 44, allegedly under the influence of drugs, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Fish also discovered a small marijuana cultivation in the garage and Wehner didn’t have a medicinal card, Sgt. Mark Yanez, who heads the sheriff’s drug investigation unit, said. Monday afternoon, detectives got a search warrant for the home and found drug use paraphernalia throughout the residence including needles, crack cocaine pipes and materials for converting powder cocaine to rock cocaine, Yanez said.

Other people leaving the home have been arrested on drug-related charges during the past month, according to Yanez.

Wehner was also booked into County Jail on suspicion of maintaining a place where drugs are used and sold.

APTOS – A random traffic stop Friday night led to the arrest of a suspected methamphetamine dealer, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Sgt. Steve Carney pulled over a pickup near State Park Drive for a vehicle code violation around 10 p.m. and the driver, Michael Lee Ross, pulled into the parking lot at the Mediterranean Bar on Center Street, Sgt. Mark Yanez said.

Apparently, all three men in the truck appeared to be under the influence of drugs and Ross, who is a bartender at that establishment, had drugs in his vehicle, Yanez said.

Deputies found 10 grams of methamphetamine packaged for sale, a functioning digital scale, drug packaging material, $200 cash and other items related to drug sales in the pickup, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Ross, 41, was arrested on suspicion of possessing of methamphetamine for sales, transporting of methamphetamine and being under the influence of drugs.

“We’ve have numerous tips about him dealing out of there for the last year,” Yanez said.

Ross was booked into County Jail and later released on $25,000 bail. His passengers, Joshua Franz, 21, and William Workman, 39, were both arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of methamphetamine. Workman was booked into jail on two warrants.