The Weekly Dump – 8.9.24

Shooting at Santa Cruz Harbor

Thursday night around 9PM, reports came in that there was some kind of shooting at the harbor. Multiple SCPD units responded to the scene and found two victims with gunshot wounds in front of the Crows Nest. One man was shot six times in the chest. One victim was flown via air ambulance to an out-of-area trauma center, while another was taken by ground ambulance to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center. After the shooting, a man with a gun was reported near the Chardonnay dock near the Murray Street Bridge but never located. According to witnesses, there was some kind of physical confrontation in the parking just prior to the shooting. As far as I know, no arrests have been made yet.

Let a Jury Decide His Fate

This week, Santa Cruz Judge Denine Guy determined that there is probable cause that now 24 year old confessed child rapist and killer Adrian Gonzalez would be a danger to society if released from juvenile detention. Just over nine years ago, a 15 year old Gonzalez lured his 8 year old neighbor back to his empty apartment where he choked, raped and fatally stabbed her. In 2021, under then-new state juvenile justice reform Senate Bill 92, Gonzalez was ordered back to the juvenile legal process, rather than continuing to be tried as an adult. He immediately pleaded guilty to charges and was sentenced to become a ward of the state juvenile detention system through the maximum age of 25.

He should be rotting away in state prison but he skates on a shitty technicality thanks to a bunch of assholes in Sacramento. He was set to be released until the District Attorney’s Office challenged his fitness for release ahead of his 25th birthday in October. This week, the judge said there was probable cause to believe Gonzalez would be physically dangerous to the public due to his mental or physical condition, disorder or other problem causing a person serious difficulty in controlling his dangerous behavior. She ordered a jury trial for Gonzalez to begin within, at most, 30 days of her ruling. Now a jury will decide whether they believe, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Gonzalez would be a danger to society if released. Gonzalez’s trial date, with preliminary matters such as juror selection, is set to begin at 9AM on August 19th. Should jurors find that Gonzalez would be a danger to the public if released, Gonzalez could be mandated to another two years of juvenile detention. 

Watsonville Police Shoot Man Threatening Toddler

Last Saturday, a 25 year old man was outside the Watsonville police department and called dispatch to say he was going to hurt his three year old stepdaughter with a knife. The first officer to respond ordered the man to drop the knife. After he refused and charged at the officer, he was shot by police. He was taken to a trauma center over the hill and was in stable condition, per police. The toddler was unharmed and put in the care of other family members. But the story doesn’t end there. The mother of the toddler was also reported missing the same night. Her body was located the next day near Eureka Canyon Road and Grizzly Flat Road. The cause of death was determined to be multiple stab wounds to the torso, per the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s office. Once he was released from the hospital, he was arrested and booked into Santa Cruz County Jail by the Watsonville Police Department for murder and other related charges.

Scotts Valley Creeper Arrested

This week, the Scotts Valley Police Department announced the arrest of a former teen counselor after it conducted an undercover operation. The 24 year old man is charged with human trafficking, contact of minor with intent to commit sexual offense, and annoying/molesting a victim under 18 years of age. He served as a teen counselor at the Scotts Valley Boys and Girls Club from 2019 to 2023, according to police. After leaving that position, he stayed in contact with several young teens he had been counseling, and allegedly offered the teens money in exchange for sexual acts, pictures, and to keep quiet about the relationship. Police said there is no evidence he actually sexually assaulted any of the minors. The investigation began after a parent found inappropriate messages on their child’s cell phone and contacted police.

Sweeping Homeless Measures Take Effect Locally

Within days of Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order directing cities and counties in the state to address illegal homeless camps within their limits, many unsanctioned camps throughout the state are in the process of being cleared. Last week, Watsonville Police and Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s deputies help clear a large homeless camp on Airport Boulevard. At least one camper built a small house made of plywood, with a glass window and a step ladder for stairs. Also last week, Santa Cruz Police were in the Pogonip clearing out several camps where an estimated 50 people were illegally camping. But according to Mayor Fred, they’re all gone!

“The very unhealthy living environment in large unsanctioned camps doesn’t exist in Santa Cruz anymore. That is not to say that there aren’t gatherings of homeless folks in parts of the Pogonip or here or there around the city, but there’s not 20 tents together or 10 tents together.” – Mayor Fred

Well I’m calling bullshit on Mayor Fred. We all know they still exist. So here’s what I’m asking. If you see a camp of say 10 or more people, take a photo of it and send it to Mayor Fred at fkeeley@santacruzca.gov and while you’re at it, cc me at ben@santamierda.com. I’ll make sure the photos get seen and not swept under the Mayor’s rug. And I’ll do my part to hold Mayor Fred accountable for cleaning them up. I’m going to start a new page on the website (“Camp Fred”) and I’ll feature the camp photos you send to us and document the location and how long it takes to clean it up. Send us your photos and locations.

And there’s this (courtesy of Big Joe): from the city council’s 8.3 agenda-” The Pogonip Creek Nature Loop Trail area within the Pogonip open space has experienced the development of a sizable homeless encampment over the past several months. These camps, spread over a dispersed area, have significantly increased in size over the past few months, growing into an environmental hazard that presents a risk to public safety, health and welfare. Cost for clean up- $140,000″. We aim to serve here. 

Santa Cruz Sheriff Announces His Retirement

Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart announced this week that he would be retiring. He served the Santa Cruz community for 36 years, and will retire in December. He has served three terms as Sheriff-Coroner for Santa Cruz County. He will have served his original 4 year term, but his term was extended to six years after the last election. The state legislature extended the term to six years to align Sheriffs and District Attorneys’ elections with the presidential cycle, so he leaves two years with left on his term. Hart began his career as a deputy sheriff in 1988. He is currently endorsing Undersheriff Chis Clark as his most qualified successor as Sheriff.

Westside Village Development Moves Forward

A new affordable housing project called “Westside Village”  received zoning administrator approval for the project permits this week. It is a 3 story development proposed for 850 Almar Avenue, across from the Almar Shopping Center in Santa Cruz. It would be built in the grassy, triangular space at 844 and 850 Almar Ave. between Rankin Street and the Monterey Bay Sanctuary Scenic Trail.

It would be about 36 feet tall, with 39,000 square-feet of space. It will consist of 38 rental units with a mix of 23 two-bedroom and 15 three-bedroom apartments, and will also have a community room, offices for management and a laundry room on the ground floor and an exterior plaza with a children’s play area adjacent to the community room. There is no on-site parking that is required as part of the state law requirement. They are voluntarily providing parking, so 
the project will contain 38 vehicle parking spaces on site, with one space per unit, and 38 Class 1 bike parking spaces for residents. The developer is CRP Affordable Housing and Development.

Mark Primack Sounds Off on the Planning Department

Good letter in the Senile this week. 

The Weekly Seen

 

Saturday Night at Abbott Square in downtown Santa Cruz, California

It’s always a weekly scene and place to be seen at Abbott Square on a mild summer Saturday night in downtown Santa Cruz. 

You’re Making Me Hungry

The food feature is back after a few weeks of hiatus, mostly due to the fact that I haven’t been eating out much lately. I like to cook and grow stuff I can cook with and eat, and I also buy my groceries at Costco so it’s hard to defend eating out a lot. Still I enjoy it when I do! And while walking home from Abbott Square I stopped in Nick the Greek for some take out. My usual lamb gyro sandwich. Which rocks by the way. 

Back before Nick the Greek moved into that corner (and I miss the Indian buffet place that used to be there), my favorite restaurant in all of downtown was The Falafel House. It wasn’t right on Pacific so it didn’t get as much traffic, the food was really good for inexpensive mediterranen food, the staff was nice and friendly, even their burgers were excellent. And they mostly flew under the tourist radar, and were rarely crowded. Then Nicks came in and they were doomed. Nicks gyros were just so much better. I wanted to keep supporting my favorite place but Nicks sucked me in with their gyros. 

In My Ear

The Mermen – Curve

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)

Check Out Our Twitter Feed for More Mierda!

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