Man arrested on suspicion of shooting at cars in Santa Cruz County
SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Calif. (KION) A man is behind bars in Santa Cruz County after the Sheriff's Office said he was seen shooting at passing cars.
It was reported to law enforcement at around 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Deputies were called to the area around Winkle Avenue and Soquel Drive after multiple people called to report it. The Sheriff's Office said they gave the same description of the suspect, who was last seen running into the Emerald Bay Apartments.
“Luckily witnesses got a really good description, and saw the direction that the suspect ran once deputies set that perimeter up they were able to find the suspect inside the Emerald Bay apartment complex and arrested him without further incident,” Ashley Keehn with the SCCSO said.
Deputies set up a perimeter around the apartment complex and found a 9mm shell casing near the intersection.
A man matching the description witnesses gave, 18-year-old Anthony Martinez-Franco, was seen walking through the complex and was arrested by deputies. In his backpack, the Sheriff's Office said deputies found a loaded handgun that matched the casing found at the intersection.
Across the street, people inside Upper Crust Pizza heard one gun shot.
“i heard the pop, but I didn’t know if it was a pistol or gun,” Owner of the pizza shop Ernesto Chavez said.
Chavez was making pizza's behind the counter, and their restaurant was packed because the Super Bowl was just about to begin.
“It was like oh my god! Was somebody shot or what?” Chavez said.
Nobody was injured, and it doesn't appear any cars were hit. However, it still made for a scary situation.
“Kids and stuff around during the day. Surprising it was right before Super Bowl. It was a little weird,” Erica Bertao who heard the gun shot said.
Martinez-Franco was booked into the Santa Cruz County jail and charged with willful discharge of a gun, possession of a gun with an altered identification and carrying a loaded gun in a public place. His bail is set at $100,000.
