Ever since a writer from Watsonville commented on getting stopped by our police I’ve paid more attention to that town that I can’t for the life of me credit with anything but gang crimes. This is one that has nothing to do with gangs, and comes from good old W’ville

Watsonville resident Laurence Roscoe Gregory, 65, was fighting with the clerk because he believed his tickets were winners, when in fact they were not, according to Sgt. Saul Gonzalez. The officer talked with Gregory outside the store, located on the 100 block of East Lake Avenue, around 8 a.m. and explained that Gregory hadn’t won.

Then the officer asked Gregory, who was wearing “bulky” clothing, if he had any weapons on him and Gregory revealed the 3- to 4-foot-long sword under his coat. He told the officer the sword was part of his attire, Gonzalez said.

Watsonville Crime Takes A Turn For The Funny

(Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Popped by a citizen via cell phone.

A Monterey man whose driver’s license was suspended from a past driving under the influence conviction was arrested early Wednesday in South County after someone called 911 to report a possible drunken driver, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Sean Joseph Connors, 24, allegedly was driving erratically on Highway 1 near Airport Boulevard around 2:40 a.m., the CHP reported. He was pulled over and arrested on suspicion of DUI and driving with a suspended license.

Sounds like the same guy that left his phone behind after breaking into a car.

From Lighthouseavenue.com in May, 2004:

Sean Connors Must Really Hate Cell Phones By Now

Just in time for the 3 day weekend, another great white is jailed in the fish prison

Monterey Bay Aquarium staff brought a young great white shark from Malibu to Monterey on Wednesday afternoon and put it on display — the fifth time the aquarium has given the public a chance to look at the fearsome fish.

Aquarium Has Great White Shark On Display

(Santa Cruz Sentinel)

Illnesses reported by Monterey Peninsula residents after September’s spraying to combat the light brown apple moth likely weren’t caused by CheckMate products, according to a study released Friday.

Findings released Friday by the Department of Pesticide Regulation suggest that exposure to a high dose of airborne CheckMate microcapsule particles could cause eye, skin or respiratory irritation. But the report said that the application of the product over Monterey County was extremely low, and it is unlikely the low levels could result in health problems.

The application of pheromones that took place was done at rates that fell below the proposed rate of 20 grams of active ingredient per acre, the report states.

CheckMate Not Likely Cause Of Illness

(Santa Cruz Sentinal)

A national survey released Monday by the AFL-CIO reports that 49 percent of homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages admit they do not know how their mortgage adjusts and 73 percent do not know how much their mortgage payment will be after the adjustment.

Well, they give away a part of every paycheck and probably don’t know where that goes, they tend to vote Democrat – so not being aware of their mortgage bomb aint surprising.

Union Members – Are They That Dumb?

Why do you think they call it Dope? Two dopes get busted for being stupid: Loud music and a missing front license plate lead to drug arrests.

The first stop happened in the Rio del Mar Shopping Center on Soquel Drive in Aptos around 9:35 p.m. when a deputy pulled over a black Chevy Tahoe blaring music and suspected the driver was under the influence of narcotics, according to Sgt. Fred Plageman. Odin found a digital gram scale and a rock of crystal meth in the center console of the Tahoe and a magnetic, metal case under the dash that the deputy suspected was for hiding drugs, according to Plageman. The deputy also reported finding 2.8 grams of suspected methamphetamine in the ashtray.

The driver, Carlos Rolando Sanchez, 31, of Watsonville, was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence and transporting a controlled substance, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

The second stop, just after midnight on the 2600 block of Portola Drive, happened when a deputy spotted a silver Honda Civic without a front license plate, Plageman said. Odin found a plastic bag of suspected heroin under the leather gear shift covering and the driver, Wilian Choto, 22, of Live Oak, was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance, possessing heroin and possessing drug paraphernalia, Plageman said.

Turn That @#%$ Down!

(Santa Cruz Sentinel)
Dang. KSCO has the best signal to hear Coast To Coast in P.G.

” . .’I'm getting out of broadcasting. KSCO is going to be for sale,’” said owner Michael Zwerling, recounting the conversation for listeners during his “Saturday Special” show. “You know when it’s time to move on”

KSCO has become a powerhouse of local news, known for reliable traffic reports and fish raps, as well as its charismatic on-air personalities. Zwerling said he considers his employees his family.

But the station — with its right-leaning voice, Fox News updates and Rush Limbaugh commentaries — is not without its critics. However, Zwerling says he tried to present a broad cross-section of news and views, including an attempt to broadcast Air America programming on Central Coast airwaves that failed earlier this year.

KSCO Owner Puts Station On The Block

On Tuesday morning, Michael Scott Beckman told a 911 dispatcher he had just escaped from three captors who held him at gunpoint and robbed him downtown. At 10:05 a.m. police raced to the corner of Pacific Avenue and Laurel Street — where the freed man was waiting — and for three hours a dozen officers pulled over cars and stopped people for questioning.

Then Beckman recanted his story. The kidnapping was an excuse for missing work, police said Beckman later told them.

It’s not something we see all the time, but we do see it,” prosecutor Dave Genochio said.

In March, a Scotts Valley woman claimed a $5,000 winning lottery ticket was stolen out of her hand outside the Scotts Valley Safeway. Police later determined Adriana Bartch, 35, had made up the theft story and never had a winning ticket. She was arrested on suspicion of filing a false police report.

Also in March, a teenage girl lied to authorities when she said a masked man stabbed her at San Lorenzo Valley High School, prompting a 2 1/2-hour campus lockdown. The Sheriff’s Office decided not to pursue charges against her because of her age and the problems she was dealing with, deputies said at the time.

Reminds me of our own local story from 2003 – the drug deal gone bad

Nicholas Gore approached Pacific Grove police two weeks ago with an odd tale.

The 18-year-old said a group of strangers had beaten, robbed and abducted him at gunpoint from the normally sleepy Country Club Gate Shopping Center.

Lieing To The Police Is Bad. Duh.

Worried about gang activity and public health, the Watsonville City Council on Tuesday put off lifting a decades-old ban on body art shops.

Councilman Antonio Rivas said tattoos would “bring a certain element into town,” namely gangs and white supremacists.

“It’s important to me not to see that kind of thing come to our city,” he said.

He argued for more stringent restrictions on the location of shops.

Make the shops photograph and register every tatt.

Even Little Ol Watsonville Gets It