Watsonville Police Launch Homicide Investigation

WATSONVILLE, CA — The Watsonville Police Department has initiated a homicide investigation after the victim in a recent shooting succumbed to his injuries.

The 46-year-old man was one of three Watsonville shooting victims reported in a roughly two-day span over Valentine's Day weekend. He died Saturday morning.

Detectives said at the time that the shootings appeared to be unrelated. Police were investigating to determine whether they were gang-related.

The victim was found shortly after midnight on Feb. 13, in the area of the levee at Front and Walker streets, down an embankment near a campsite, police said. He was suffering from at least two gunshot wounds that left him seriously hurt. He was hospitalized at a trauma center, police said.

Around 11:30 p.m. that same night, police responded to a report of a shooting in the 300 block of Madison Street, where shell casings and bullet holes were found outside of a home and two parked cars, police said. There were no injuries.

Another shooting was reported shortly after 2 a.m. Feb. 15 in the 100 block of Tharp Avenue. A 30-year-old man in a car was shot multiple times and was hospitalized at a trauma center, police said. He was expected to survive.

All three cases remain under investigations and no arrests had been made as of Tuesday.

Anyone with information is urged to call Detective Salvador Mendoza at 831-768-3357 or the anonymous tip line at 831-768-3544.