Greenfield Police Department has fired an officer who was convicted of misdemeanor battery for physically attacking his girlfriend’s ex-boyfriend.
Thursday, April 06, 2023
Tuesday, December 27, 2022
The death of an inmate at Salinas Valley State Prison is being investigated as a homicide.
Thursday, December 22, 2022
What began as a family dispute and turned violent took a deadly turn after family members called the police on Monday, Dec. 19.
Tuesday, December 20, 2022
Wednesday, November 30, 2022
Around 1am on Nov. 28, Seaside Police got a call about a dispute between two adult brothers at a home on the 1700 block of San Pablo Avenue, where they live with other family members. By the time officers arrived, the quarrel had been settled.
Wednesday, November 02, 2022
Three swatting calls reporting active shooters led to lockdowns at three Salinas schools on Tuesday.
Three separate calls reporting an active shooter led to lockdowns at three schools in Salinas on the afternoon of Tuesday, Nov. 1. Police found no evidence of a shooter in any of the three incidents, and officials are treating the calls as a hoax, known as swatting.
Monday, August 15, 2022
A massive illegal cannabis operation was hidden on what appeared to be a berry farm in North Monterey County, alleges Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni.
Monday, August 08, 2022
A prisoner was allegedly attacked and killed by a younger inmate inside of Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials who are investigating the Wednesday, Aug. 3 death as a homicide.
Friday, July 08, 2022
Salinas Police detectives and members of the SPD's Violence Suppression Task Force arrested Jacob Bustamante, 22, in connection with the murder of Faith Elizabeth Valenzuela, 29. Valenzuela was the cheer coach at Everett Alvarez High School in Salinas.
Thursday, July 07, 2022
The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office announced murder charges on Thursday afternoon, July 7, in a 40-year cold case for the murder of Anne Pham. Pham was a 5-year-old Seaside resident who was kidnapped while walking to her kindergarten class at Highland Elementary School on Jan. 21…
Wednesday, July 06, 2022
Early in the morning on Tuesday, July 5, Marina police were leaving Natividad Medical Center when they saw a one-vehicle collision at the intersection of Natividad Road and Lunsford Drive, a few blocks away from the hospital.
Wednesday, June 01, 2022
A man who was shot in the chest on Tuesday, May 31 died hours later at a local hospital, becoming the sixth homicide in Salinas so far this year. The Salinas Police Department responded to reports of a shooting just before 3pm at Sanborn Road and Del Monte Avenue, where they found Esteban Oc…
Thursday, May 26, 2022
A suspect who allegedly shot at sheriff's deputies while they were serving him an eviction notice in Seaside Thursday morning, May 26, surrendered to law enforcement officers around 1:50pm and has been taken into custody by the Monterey County Sheriff's Office to be booked at the county jail.
Tuesday, May 10, 2022
Three adult men still in their teens from Carmel and Monterey are suspects in distributing deadly fentanyl to high school students on the Monterey Peninsula, including in at least two cases where students accidentally overdosed and survived, U.S. Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds and Drug Enforcem…
Thursday, April 21, 2022
San Luis Obispo County Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen announced Wednesday, April 20 that the trial of Paul Flores for the murder of Kristin Smart will move to Monterey County.
Wednesday, April 13, 2022
Around 3pm last week, Grant Leonard, an affordable housing analyst for the city of Monterey and a candidate to become County Supervisor for District 2, called Eric Tynan, general manager of the Castroville Community Services District, and shared some bad news: the "Welcome to Castroville" si…
Monday, March 28, 2022
Just past midnight on Saturday, March 19, Monterey Police responded to a report of threats, and in their investigation, established that Shane Jones, a 28-year-old Seaside resident, had gotten into an argument with his ex-wife. Then things went off the rails.
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
The Salinas Police Department and its Violence Suppression Task Force, responsible for investigating gang activity in the city, seized 65,500 fentanyl pills during Operation Angel. Police announced the results of their month-long investigation in a press conference on Wednesday, Jan. 25, and…
Thursday, December 09, 2021
In the predawn hours on Thursday, Dec. 9, before a Burger King in Seaside had opened its doors to customers but workers were getting ready for the day, a masked man armed with a handgun entered the restaurant around 5am looking for cash. Police say he was wearing a ski mask covering his face…
Tuesday, November 23, 2021
Antonio Jose Cruz, 35, didn't succeed in his Nov. 17 attempt to escape from Monterey County Jail, but he did make it onto the roof.
Friday, November 05, 2021
The Monterey County District Attorney’s office announced Friday, Nov. 5 that Juan Govea, a 40-year-old former biology teacher at Salinas High, pleaded no contest to two felonies involving sex acts with a minor.
Thursday, November 04, 2021
Salinas Police on Nov. 4 arrested a staff member at El Sausal Middle School after conducting an investigation that led them to believe an adult had inappropriate physical contact with a student at the school.
Wednesday, November 03, 2021
A 19-year-old woman from Carmel was shot dead after a Halloween party in Sacramento. Her boyfriend, a 20-year-old member of the U.S. Air Force, was present at the location, and arrested for accessory to murder, although he has not been charged. A 21-year-old woman and her 27-year-old brother…
Tuesday, October 05, 2021
The early-morning hours of Tuesday, Oct. 5 were disrupted by gunshots in North Salinas, near the El Gabilan Library. A shooting at about 1:45am left a 19-year-old man dead at the scene; Salinas Police officers responded to the 200 block of Chaparral Street just off North Main Street, based o…
Thursday, September 16, 2021
A five-month-long investigation by the Salinas Police Department's investigations unit, Monterey County District Attorney's Office and a host of other agencies, involving 170 law enforcement personnel in total, led to the arrest of eight suspects in one of the largest drug busts in Monterey …
Monday, August 16, 2021
Forty years is longer than the time Sonia Carmel Herok-Stone lived. That is how long it took from the time the 30-year-old was murdered, in 1981, to an arrest in the case.
Friday, August 13, 2021
The concept was a virtuous one: provide in-home respite to families with children who have special needs, and provide in-school aides for children with special needs.
Friday, August 06, 2021
In June, two days before he was scheduled to be released from Salinas Valley State Prison at the end of an eight-year sentence, Thomas Pollacci learned he would face another hearing before walking free. He was transported to Monterey County Jail in anticipation of a hearing on a petition fil…
Thursday, August 05, 2021
In a span of five days, two separate shooting incidents occurred in Seaside that damaged a combined 13 vehicles. As of Aug. 5, Seaside Police believe them to be unrelated.
Wednesday, June 02, 2021
Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo was stopped by California Highway Patrol officers shortly before midnight on Friday, May 28, and cited for driving under the influence. According to sources with knowledge of the situation, Alejo's blood alcohol level was 0.16, or twice the legal limit, …
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
It started out routinely enough. At around 10:30am on Tuesday, May 11, Monterey Police detectives observed a white BMW with stolen license plates parked on Alcalde Avenue off North Fremont, and a man and a woman who were removing belongings from the car.
Wednesday, April 14, 2021
Seaside police union chief under investigation for hit-and-run and fleeing the scene of an accident.
The incident appears on the Monterey Police Department’s online log as “traffic accident/mar vista dr, monterey” with the report number YA2101374 attached. The incident occurred on Tuesday, April 13, and it’s one that has Monterey police pulling video footage from the bar at the Monterey Elk…
Monday, April 12, 2021
Monterey County sheriff's deputies and the North County Fire Protection District responded to a structure fire in Prunedale on Monday afternoon, April 12, after receiving multiple calls.
Wednesday, March 31, 2021
It took a blown stop sign and a suspicious lane change for tipsters to alert the Monterey Police Department on the evening of Sunday, March 28 that the man driving the John Deere 410J tractor on Del Monte Avenue near Wharf 2 possibly should not be driving the tractor.
Friday, October 02, 2020
On Thursday, Oct. 1, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office announced they had arrested one of their own after conducting an investigation about an alleged sexual assault.
Thursday, July 02, 2020
The Seaside man who was followed from the Monterey Lanes bowling alley in 2018 and allegedly beaten by a couple who hurled racist expletives at him during the attack is suing them for violating his civil rights.
Sunday, June 07, 2020
Saturday, June 6, was already a day of heightened tension and grief for Monterey police officers. They were among the many agencies from nearby regions that received a call around 3:10pm to respond to Ben Lomond, in Santa Cruz County, to support the Santa Cruz Sheriff's Department as deputie…
Saturday, May 16, 2020
While other Carmel restaurants are obeying the county’s shelter-in-place order by either remaining closed or offering take-out service, it’s been business as usual at The Tuck Box despite three citations issued by the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office on May 13, for offering dine-in…
Friday, May 08, 2020
A 21-year-old Salinas man suspected of attacking a 61-year-old Carmel woman on May 4 surrendered himself to the Salinas Police Department on Thursday, May 7, the Carmel Police Department has announced.
Tuesday, May 05, 2020
A 61-year-old Carmel woman was violently assaulted in her driveway around 7am on Monday, May 4, Carmel Police Chief Paul Tomasi reported on Tuesday. The woman is recovering from her injuries.
Monday, March 02, 2020
One victim prayed with her attacker, and then accompanied him to speak to a social worker after he kidnapped her and raped her twice. Another victim laid face-down and counted to 20 after she was raped, only getting up and fleeing when her attacker was out of range and yelled "Bye!" signalin…
Friday, February 14, 2020
The 18-year-old man arrested on Feb. 9 on a charge of involuntary manslaughter in the fentanyl overdose death of 16-year-old Seaside resident Perla Velasco-Cruz will remain in custody as he awaits future hearings, a judge ruled on Feb. 14.
Thursday, February 13, 2020
The death of 16-year-old Perla Velasco in October after she took a pill laced with the deadly synthetic drug fentanyl sent shockwaves through her family, local medical professionals and law enforcement, prompting a major push to prevent more overdoses and deaths in the months that followed.
Thursday, February 06, 2020
Adrienne Lara, a Greenfield High School teacher, was arrested on Tuesday, Feb. 4, by Greenfield police and booked into Monterey County Jail on charges of forgery, embezzlement, theft of public funds and altering medical records.
Monday, January 27, 2020
Prosecutors dropped a slew of new charges on the man suspected of slingshotting glass marbles at vehicles traveling along Highway 101, including allegations that he assaulted two California Highway Patrol officers just months after the attacks began.
Friday, January 24, 2020
The man suspected of slingshotting glass marbles at vehicles speeding along the Prunedale-Aromas Highway 101 corridor, Charles Kenneth Lafferty, appeared in Monterey County Superior Court on Friday, Jan. 24, at an arraignment on nine felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon.
Thursday, January 23, 2020
On the Facebook page dedicated to discussing the projectile attacks that have for months terrorized drivers traveling along Highway 101 through Prunedale, there was a sense of relief at the news that the California Highway Patrol had arrested and charged a suspect.
Tuesday, December 31, 2019
The person or persons responsible for hurling projectiles at vehicles along Highway 101 in the Prunedale area took a brief break over the week of Christmas, but now appears to be back in business. The 65th reported incident took place on Dec. 27, with two more incidents reported on Dec. 30, …
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
As if sitting in bumper to bumper traffic on Highway 101 the day before Thanksgiving isn't bad enough, holiday travelers on the biggest travel day of the year also have to contend with thunderstorms and a mystery person (or persons) who's been hurling projectiles at vehicles along a stretch …
Monday, November 18, 2019
Two men have pleaded guilty to federal charges of racketeering and conspiracy to commit murder in connection to their task as enforcers of Nuestra Familia gang rules while they were inmates in Monterey County Jail.