Anonymous Tip Links Jail Inmate to Watsonville Stabbing Case

An anonymous tip helped Watsonville police catch one of the men suspected of a gang-motivated attack on a teenage boy last month, investigators reported Friday.

Detectives found Roberto Meza, 20, at County Jail, where he was being held pending trial for a separate gang-related incident, police said.

The assault happened as the boy was walking on the 700 block of Madison Street just before 8 p.m. on Jan. 23. The boy told police a brown Honda Accord passed him, then stopped and a group of young men got out, police reported.

They beat him with bats or sticks and stabbed him with a knife, police said. When the short attack was over, the group got back in the car and fled.

The 15-year-old boy suffered "significant injuries," police said. He was flown to an out-of-county trauma center for treatment, but is now home and recovering, police said.

An anonymous tip led detectives to investigate Meza. The Watsonville resident was arrested earlier this month in connection with , police said.

Lt. David McCartney said the tip came in within the past two weeks. All but one of the attackers had covered his face with a bandanna. Police suspect Meza is the one who didn't conceal his identity.

Meza was re-booked on charges of attempted murder and gang allegations Friday morning.