Santa Cruz County Crime & Justice Digest

Some firefighters and police officers who worked long enough in California to earn pensions are heading to more conservative destinations like Idaho in retirement. Some of these people even run for political office in these places.

Google has agreed to pay $700 million and will make changes to its app store it has resisted for years in order to resolve a lawsuit over whether its app store is an illegal monopoly.

Executives of the company that previously owned Watsonville Community Hospital are accused of improper payments, siphoning funds for personal use and negligent operations, among other things, in a lawsuit filed by the hospital's liquidation trustee.

Erika Ziegenhorn has been ceremonially sworn in as the newest Santa Cruz County Superior Court judge, marking Gov. Gavin Newsom's fourth such local judicial appointment this year.

Judge Syda Cogliati has been elected by the bench to serve as the presiding judge and Judge Jerry Vinluan has been elected to serve as assistant presiding judge, according to a release from the Superior Court of Santa Cruz County.

The Exclusive Poultry Inc. agreed to pay $3.8 million in wages, damages and penalties in part for hiring children for dangerous work. The case is one of hundreds federal labor officials investigated last year.

A new select committee in the California Assembly dedicated to retail theft will hold its first hearing on Dec. 19. This allows the committee to get to work before the next legislative session on an issue that’s drawn much press for California in recent years.

Hunter Biden, a Malibu resident, is facing nine tax-related charges between the years of 2016 and 2019. It is the second criminal indictment for the son of President Biden, aside from a pending firearms case.

California’s “failure to protect” law allows child welfare agencies to take kids from households scarred by domestic violence. Advocates say the separation can worsen a family’s trauma.

Hackers stole data this week from Blue Shield of California. Historically, this type of data has sometimes wound up for sale on what’s known as the dark web, the part of the internet not typically included in search engine results.

A member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors has asked that the county wait until 2025 to implement pending state policy around conservatorships. The policy, which goes into effect Jan. 1, makes people suffering from severe addiction eligible to receive conservatorships.

Two people in the Los Angeles area have been arrested for stealing $9.5 million worth of electronics, shoes and other items. This comes on the heels of a successful raid where the CHP recovered $9 million more of stolen merchandise.

Families of people in jail or prison sometimes pay exorbitant amounts to accept phone calls from their incarcerated loved ones. Starting Dec. 1, these calls will be free in Los Angeles County.

A Sacramento judge has ordered local syringe exchange program Harm Reduction Coalition to cease state-authorized syringe operations in Santa Cruz County. The ruling is the latest in a lengthy legal saga between plaintiff Grant Park Neighborhood Association Advocates and the state’s Department of Public Health.

Despite being struck with a one-two punch of criminal activity in recent weeks, the owner of Handsome Beauty Bar plans to fight back with a show of resilience.

David DePape had originally targeted Pelosi’s wife, Rep. Nancy Pelosi. He was convicted in federal court on Nov. 16 and still faces state charges.

Ana de Alba, a first-generation Mexican-American who is the daughter of farmworkers, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as a judge on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Alba was confirmed by a 48-43 vote.

A reporter visiting San Francisco from the Czech Republic was held at gunpoint and robbed of $18,000 of equipment. This comes at a time the city has been battling a reputation for being crime-ridden and dangerous.

David DePape admitted during cross-examination both that he attacked Paul Pelosi and that he knew who Pelosi’s wife was, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

No contenders have filed to run against four sitting judges whose terms expire in 2024. The incumbents are Syda Cogliati, Jordan Sheinbaum, Katherine Hansen, and Leila Sayar—three of whom were appointed to their current terms.

Center for Food Safety has filed arguments seeking to revoke the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ approval of nationwide permit 56, which authorizes industrial finfish aquaculture structures in ocean waters around the country. CFS represents a coalition of conservation, tribal, and fishing organizations.

Miguel Solorio, 44, has been exonerated for a murder he didn’t commit, with a judge ordering his release from incarceration after 25 years. Solorio worked with attorneys from the Northern California Innocence Project for his freedom.

Some venues in the San Diego area rely on paying workers under the table in cash, for rates that work out below minimum wage, an investigation by Voice of San Diego has found.

An evaluation of 34 adult prisons in California by the Office of the Inspector General found that 11 provided inadequate medical care and 23 provided adequate care. None were deemed proficient, the top designation.

Capitola law enforcement leaders will restart efforts to form a community policing committee after a previous attempt failed to recruit a representative group of local residents.

One of the few areas the Supreme Court has agreed on in recent years is free speech. Now, the high court will decide if protections extend to a woman who sued after being cited in 2017 for honking 14 times as she drove by a political protest.

Prison Policy Initiative released a new report that delves into the sheer magnitude of criminalization in the U.S., where reliance on incarceration outpaces most of the globe.

The council will receive a report on Rail Trail Segments 10 and 11 as well as an update on the years-long effort to form the Police Chief’s Advisory Committee.

More than 40 states are suing the social media giant. The legal actions allege that Meta has deceived the public about the harms of Facebook and Instagram, which the attorneys general say “exploit and manipulate” children.

The judge's ruling put a renewed spotlight on long-running claims of rampant anti-Black racism at the Fremont plant where all four Tesla models are produced.

As countywide efforts to increase the availability of overdose remedies ramp up, the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office Coroner's Unit has been weighed down by a growing backlog of deaths, many related to drug overdoses.

Survivors who were sexually assaulted while imprisoned got an audience at the state Capitol, sharing their stories while testifying at a California Legislative Women’s Caucus briefing about abuse by staff at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla.