Man arrested for attempted murder in Watsonville

A Watsonville man was arrested for attempted murder Tuesday morning.

The victim told Watsonville Police her ex boyfriend, 31-year-old Mario Ceja had been following her in his car as she drove around the city. She told police Ceja was the suspect of a shooting in the area of Riverside Drive and Marchant Street. She also said Ceja had custody of their 4-year-old son.

“WPD officers quickly responded to the suspect’s home and located his vehicle parked there. They could hear a male’s voice and a child’s voice inside of the residence,” said Sgt. R Mish Radich.

WPD’s Special Response Team arrived at the scene around 9:45 a.m. Ceja walked out of his home and SRT members took him into custody.

The child was found inside the home asleep. The boy was placed in his mother’s care.

Ceja was booked into county jail with a bail set at $500,000.