Crime & Safety
2 Men Found Shot To Death In Santa Cruz Mountains: Arrest
The accused gunman and both victims were residents of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
BOULDER CREEK, CA — Authorities arrested a 66-year-old man over the weekend in connection with the deaths of two men found fatally shot in the bed of a pickup truck last month on State Route 35 in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
James David Collier, a resident of Boulder Creek in Santa Cruz County, was taken into custody early Sunday morning, the California Highway Patrol said.
The bodies of two Boulder Creek men, 53-year-old Colter White and 45-year-old Sean Pfeffer, were discovered about 6:50 p.m. March 24 in a pickup parked in a pullout area along State Route 35, also known as Skyline Boulevard, near Oak Ridge Road.
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The heavily wooded area along Skyline is near several parks and trailheads, including Sanborn County Park and Castle Rock State Park.
Collier and the victims knew each other, the CHP said, but no information has been released about what led to the shooting.
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Detectives identified Collier as a suspect in the deaths, and on April 9, authorities served a search warrant at a home in Santa Cruz County.
Using evidence from that search, a criminal complaint was issued by the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office, and an arrest warrant was issued for Collier.
He was taken into custody about 6:20 a.m. Sunday and booked into the Santa Clara County Jail.
Collier is being held without bail and is set to appear in Santa Clara County Superior Court on Monday afternoon.
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