Crime & Safety
Cold Case Homicide: Suspect Arrested In 2008 Watsonville Killing
Jorge Trujillo Rodriguez is suspected in the fatal stabbing of 20-year-old Leonardo Barajas in Watsonville in October 2008.
WATSONVILLE, CA — A suspect was charged this week in a 2008 cold case homicide and an additional attempted murder in 2011 that were gang-related, the Santa Cruz County District Attorney's office reported Friday.
Jorge Trujillo Rodriguez is suspected in the stabbing of 20-year-old Leonardo Barajas outside the Clifford Manor Apartments in Watsonville on Oct. 3, 2008. Barajas died before he could be taken to a hospital, and his death marked the first homicide of that year in Watsonville.
Police said the case went cold because witnesses were not participating in the investigation.
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Investigators later connected Rodriguez to an attempted murder in 2011.
Rodriguez made his first court appearance on Wednesday and his arraignment is scheduled for Sept. 18 in Santa Cruz County Superior Court.
Find out what's happening in Watsonvillefor free with the latest updates from Patch.
—Bay City News
