Crime & Safety
Santa Cruz Police Bust Up Gangs Selling Drugs in Beach Flats
Police "disrupted" drug sellers in the area's most visible crime area. Hundreds of thousands of tourists pass through Beach Flats on their way to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.
Santa Cruz Police spent three months putting pressure on drug sellers in the city's Beach Flats area, the neighborhood that is a gateway to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.
A joint effort with the Santa Cruz Police Department, the Santa Cruz Sheriff's Office, the Santa Cruz Anti-Crime Team and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration led to arrests of seven high profile drug dealers, four of whom were in the Sureño gang.
Police used undercover drug buys, surveillance and informants for the sweep.
Arrested were:
Juan Armando Silva – 26 yrs, Santa Cruz resident
Drug Sales
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Sureno gang member
Manuel Huerta Silva – 27 yrs, Santa Cruz resident
Find out what's happening in Santa Cruzwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Drug Sales, Drug Possession
Sureno gang member
Andrew Villa – 18 yrs, Santa Cruz resident
Drug Sales
Sureno gang member
Jeremy Ochoa – 32 yrs, Aptos Resident
Drug Sales
Rene Perez Mendoza – 31 yrs, Santa Cruz Resident
Drug Sales
Edward Lujan – 43 yrs, Santa Cruz Resident
Drug Possession with Intent to Distribute, Firearms Possession
Additionally, an unnamed 17 year old juvenile, confirmed Sureno gang member on drug sales charges.
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