Four UCSC protesters plead not guilty to misdemeanor charges
Four UC Santa Cruz students pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor charges in Santa Cruz County Superior Court Thursday morning.
Those students included Ethan Pezzow, 20, of Santa Cruz, Alexander Pearce, 20, of San Francisco, Sophia Dimatteo, 20, of Sherman Oaks and Jeanine Caceres, 22, of Santa Cruz.
The Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office said based on the evidence, the students are charged with two misdemeanor counts of public nuisance and resisting arrest for now. They said the felony charge is still being investigated. The students were assigned legal counsel. More information on the felony charge may be presented at a pre-trial conference on March 17th.
The four students have all been released on their own recognizance and were told they must appear March 17th with two more students who posted bail earlier in the week. Those students are Lori Nixon, 29, of Santa Cruz and Sasha Peterson, 20, of Santa Cruz.
On Tuesday morning, all six students blocked traffic on Highway 1 near the fishhook. For more than four hours, they locked arms through steel poles, strung together by trash cans filled with cement protesting tuition hikes and police on campus.
On Wednesday, deputies said those students were each charged with felony conspiracy to execute a crime and three misdemeanors including creating a public nuisance, failure to obey lawful order and failure to obey executive order from a police officer.
