4 Teens Arrested Following Robbery with Knife, Sawed-Off Rifle in Watsonville

Watsonville police arrested four teenage boys on suspicion of robbing a person with a knife and a sawed-off rifle on Friday, police said.

Officers responded to a report of an armed robbery at Freedom Elementary School, located at 25 Holly Drive, at 2:18 p.m., police said. The victim told police two juvenile boys robbed him at knifepoint of a bicycle and an iPod or iPhone before running down Loma Prieta Avenue, according to police.

Roughly two hours later, around 4 p.m., the victim called Watsonville police and told the officers he spotted the suspects who robbed him at an apartment complex on Landis Avenue. When the victim confronted the teens, one of the youths pulled a sawed-off rifle from a bush bordering the Struve Slough at the end of Landis Avenue and threatened to shoot the victim, police said. The victim ran away and called police.

Officers set up a perimeter and began pursuing three of the suspects, police said. One of the suspects, who was carrying the sawed-off rifle, threw the weapon away as he ran from police. The suspects tried to break into a building but couldn’t get in and eventually surrendered to the officers, police said. Police said the serial number on the gun had been defaced.

Officers found the fourth suspect in the area of Loma Prieta Avenue and Holly Drive. They were all arrested and booked in Santa Cruz County Juvenile Hall on suspicion of conspiracy, robbery, brandishing a firearm with a defaced serial number, resisting arrest, juvenile in possession of a firearm and a gang enhancement.

Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to call Watsonville police at (831) 768-3350.

--Bay City News