Known Watsonville Gang Member Sentenced For Crimes

SANTA CRUZ - A known Watsonville gang member was sentenced Friday for a string of violent crimes in 2008 and 2009 while he was in and out of jail, according to the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office.

Pedro “Termite” Zuniga-Garcia cried as he addressed the court Friday when he received his sentence of 29 years and four months in prison, prosecutors said.

“This defendant has a long record of violent crime as a well-known and dangerous gang member. We are relieved he is off the streets,” Santa Cruz County Assistant District Attorney Charles Baum said in a statement.

He was convicted in June of nine charges: three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, three counts of active participation in a criminal street gang, two counts of resisting peace officers and one count of attempted destruction of evidence.

In March 2008, he and two other gang members were involved in a fight at a party and beat up a homeowner using a piece of wood that measured 2 feet by 4 feet, according to prosecutors. The trio then assaulted another partygoer, who was left with severe head trauma, prosecutors said.

The homeowner and partygoer have recovered from their injuries, but have been left with scars, according to prosecutors.

A month later while Zuniga-Garcia was in jail, he was in a fight with custody staff, who discovered hidden gang messages in his cell, prosecutors said. Zuniga-Garcia and his cellmate attempted to dispose of the messages by flushing them down a toilet, but they were later recovered and used against him in court, according to prosecutors.

The defendant’s bail was decreased after both fights, which was opposed by the district attorney, and he was placed out of custody, prosecutors said.

While he was on reduced bail in February 2009, Zuniga-Garcia chased down and stabbed a rival gang member in Watsonville, prosecutors said. The victim suffered a stab wound to his back and has healed from the injury, according to prosecutors.

The defendant was arraigned soon after and the court ruled against the District Attorney’s Office request to reinstate bail to the original amount, prosecutors said.

Zuniga-Garcia ran away to Mexico and came back to Santa Cruz County in 2014, when he was arrested once again by Watsonville police, according to prosecutors.

-Bay City News