Watsonville Boy, 16, Arrested for Allegedly Shooting Another Teen

A teenage boy suspected of fatally shooting a 19-year-old man Sunday night in Watsonville was arrested Monday morning, police said.

The teen allegedly shot Mario Daniel Hernandez of Watsonville in the 200 block of Clifford Avenue, where officers responded to reports of shots fired around 10:40 p.m. Sunday, police Lt. Saul Gonzalez said.

While en route to the scene, police learned a person had been shot, Gonzalez said.

Once officers reached the scene they found a man, later identified as Hernandez, who was shot multiple times in his upper torso, the lieutenant said.

Hernandez was transported to Watsonville Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Gonzalez said.

Investigators were able to identify the 16-year-old boy as the suspect and arrested him in the 2400 block of Freedom Boulevard without incident, according to Gonzalez.

The name of the boy, a Watsonville resident, has not been released because of his age, Gonzalez said.

The case doesn’t appear to be linked with a homicide last Tuesday when 33-year-old Jesus Rocha was shot and killed in the area of Jefferson Street and Palm Avenue, police said.

Police are looking for 29-year-old Damian Baxter, a person of interest in Rocha’s death. A second person of interest, 30-year-old Rachelle Vasquez, turned herself in two days later but was not arrested, according to police.

Anyone with information on Sunday’s fatal shooting is asked to call police at (831) 471-1151 or an anonymous crime tip line at (831) 768-3544.

--Bay City News Service, photo via Shutterstock