The Weekly Dump – 7.19.24

Local Recreational Shellfish Warning Issued by California Department of Public Health

This week, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) warned people not to eat “recreationally harvested” mussels, clams or whole scallops from Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. In a press release they issued on Thursday morning, the County of Santa Cruz Health Services Agency stated that there were dangerous levels of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins in mussels that were recreationally harvested from those two counties. According to the Health Services Agency, PSP toxins occur naturally in mussels but can cause illness or possibly death in humans. The CDPH says that PSP toxins can affect the central nervous system and produces a tingling sensation around the mouth and fingertips within a few minutes to a few hours after eating toxic shellfish. Cooking the shellfish does not destroy the toxins. The warning does not apply to shellfish sold commercially by approved sources, according to the CDPH.

Two People Drown Off West Cliff Drive

Tuesday night around 6:30PM, two people who were standing on rocks off of West Cliff Drive near David Way were hit by a wave and swept into the ocean. Witnesses reported seeing a wave wash both individuals off the rocks and directly into the ocean. Multiple rescue agencies responded quickly to the scene, and rescue swimmers pulled a man and woman from the water and loaded them into to a harbor patrol boat. One person was confirmed dead at the scene. The other victim was transferred to a hospital where they passed away. 

NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON THE OCEAN

It can’t be said enough times living here. West Cliff Drive is the kind of place that’s made for social media selfies. It’s one of the most beautiful drives in the country, and it’s easily accessible. And it’s fucking dangerous! It’s literally falling into the ocean. It’s a recipe for disaster for people who are visiting and don’t live here. It borders a cliff that falls into the ocean, and it’s one hell of a cold ocean. Many spots have no guardrails or fences even, just a patch of ice plant that goes over a cliff into the ocean. Whenever I hear about a drowning like this, and it’s happened many times before, I always think how avoidable it is. And then I’ll see idiots wandering out to the edge of the toilet bowl. Who’s next? Don’t be next. 

A Deadly Swim: Santa Cruz’s Notorious Toilet Bowl

Home Invasion Burglary Terrorizes Local Residents

Last Thursday just after midnight, a man and woman were out for a walk along the 2000 block of Halterman Avenue when they were confronted at gunpoint by 3 men and forced to go back to their home and allow them inside. The suspects then zip-tied the hands and feet of the two victims, as well as a third person who was already inside the home. Investigators do not believe the victims knew the burglars. A shotgun was among the items that were stolen. Investigators got good descriptions of the suspects but nobody has been arrested. And yet, according to the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office spokesperson, “the public is not in any danger”. Did I miss the part about where he was arrested?

CHP Chase on Highway 1 Leads to Drunk Driving Arrest 

Wednesday morning, CHP Santa Cruz chased after a speeding black Jeep SUV on Highway 1 near Rio Del Mar Boulevard. When officers tried to make a traffic stop, the Jeep kept going. CHP pursued the driver and the chase ended after the driver crashed in a ditch. The 25 year old male from Watsonville was not injured. He was taken into custody for felony evading, DUI, and outstanding warrants.

The Feds Take Out Santa Cruz’s Trash

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California has filed a series of federal criminal complaints charging three men with possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl in Santa Cruz County. Santa Cruz County fatalities attributed to fentanyl overdoses increased from 5 in 2019 to 133 in 2023, according to county statistics. Led by the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office and the DEA with operational assistance from the FBI and SCPD, the arrests led to the seizure of fentanyl, a ghost gun, ammunition and multiple arrests by state authorities of people possessing drugs for sale, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

• A 49 year old man (Drug Dealer #1) is facing charges of possession with intent to distribute five grams or more of actual methamphetamine, and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and carfentanil, stemming from two separate traffic stops, per a federal criminal complaint. He was arrested in February after a traffic stop, when a drug-sniffing K9 helped investigators locate methamphetamine, sales paraphernalia and more than $750 in cash in the vehicle. In March, deputies again stopped him for failing to stop at a stop sign and seized drugs, sales paraphernalia and more than $400 in cash. On this occasion, he was also charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, carfentanil and methamphetamine. He faces 60 years in prison with a maximum of a lifetime of supervised release and a $6 million fine.
• A 30 year old man (Drug Dealer #2) is facing a charge of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl after Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office deputies found him lying down in a van with drug paraphernalia and thousands in cash, per a federal criminal complaint. He was arrested May 5th on Coral Street. After observing multiple people entering and exiting a van in quick succession, detectives brought out their drug-sniffing K9 to indicate the presence of drugs in the van, according to the criminal complaint. Inside, detectives were said to have found about 86 grams of fentanyl, sales paraphernalia and more than $3,300 in cash. He faces 20 years in prison with a maximum of a lifetime of supervised release and a $1 million fine. 
• A 28 year old man (Drug Dealer #3) is facing charges of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of actual methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, per a federal criminal complaint. He was arrested in February on the 500 block of Water Street in Santa Cruz when a passing deputy saw him standing outside the main office of a motel wearing two backpacks, according to the complaint. A search of him and the backpacks revealed $2500 in cash and over 150 grams of fentanyl, more than 95 grams of methamphetamine, and more than 50 grams of cocaine. Then 3 months later, he was found with about 55 grams grams of p-Fluorofentanyl and 28 grams of methamphetamine HCL during a traffic stop. He faces 100 years in prison with a maximum of a lifetime of supervised release and an $11 million fine.

Drug Dealer #1 made his first court appearance this past Monday, and is currently in jail waiting for his next court hearing. Drug Dealers #2 and #3 have not been to court yet. Well thank god for the feds! How about we return to the policy of notifying ICE when drug dealers are arrested locally? Have we moved beyond the laughable “sanctuary city” stigma yet? Just the fact that the Sheriff’s office and SCPD are working with the feds on getting rid of local drug dealers is at least a step in the right direction, after back peddling in the wrong direction for years. Less politically correct and more lawfully correct. 

The Weekly Seen

San Lorenzo Park is looking pretty good these days, absolutely nothing like the dumpster fire it became when Martin Bernal and Andy Mills allowed to become a human sty of a drug camp. It’s clean and pleasant to walk through again. And the benchlands have been reclaimed by Mother Nature (this week’s cover image) but people are still camping in pockets along the river. Which is even worse for the river, with raw sewage likely leeching into the water (along with who knows what other HAZMAT materials). In the image above, there’s a pretty well established camp right on the water (foreground, middle of image). And the camp can be easily seen from the pedestrian footbridge next to Trader Joe’s. So who’s responsible here for clearing this shit out? And why are they allowing this to manifest itself again in San Lorenzo Park?

In My Ear

“Through many dark hour I been thinkin’ about this
That Jesus Christ was betrayed by a kiss
But I can’t think for you, you’ll have to decide
Whether Judas Iscariot had God on his side”

– Bob Dylan

With God On Our Side – The Neville Brothers

New Santa Mierda YouTube Channel!

I started a new YouTube channel for the Weekly Dump. It will host all my videos going forward. I’ll also put the podcast over there too if I can ever get that going. Go check out some videos if you haven’t seen them yet, and thank you to all the subscribers! (you can subscribe over there)

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