Crime Briefs: High-Speed Pursuit

Four teenagers suspected of pointed a gun at a man on Palm Avenue in Watsonville led county Gang Task Force members on a high-speed chase through South County on Thursday night, Mario Sulay, the task force commander, reported.

The gunman was riding in a red Mitsubishi with tinted windows driven by a suspected drunk driver. Gang task force officers patrolling in the area quickly found the suspected car around 10:50 p.m. and tried to stop it, but the car sped up, Sulay reported.

The chase headed to the northern end of Watsonville, out through the Buena Vista Drive area, onto southbound Highway 1 and back into the city on Riverside Drive. Speeds hit 100 mph before officers got in front of the car and threw a spike strip across the road to flatten the car's tires.

The car stopped near Blackburn and Bridge streets, where the teens tried to run. Marino Zarate, the 18-year-old driver from Castroville, was arrested along with his passengers: Bryan Ponciano, 18, and Juan Avalos, 19, both of Watsonville, and Jonathan Ayala, 19, of Freedom.

Sometime during the pursuit, someone threw an item out of the car. Officers went back there and found a loaded .45-caliber revolver

All were booked into County Jail for felony evading a peace officer, possession of a loaded firearm in a vehicle and participation in a criminal street gang. Zarate, Ponciano and Ayala were also arrested on suspicion of being felons in possession of a firearm. Zarate was also jailed for DUI.

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A vigilant cop reportedly caught a 16-year-old boy breaking into a car near Franich Park on Thursday night, Watsonville police reported.

Officer Trevor Ihlen was patrolling on Vista Montaña Drive around 11:30 p.m. when he saw four people hanging out in the park, which closes at dusk. Ihlen hid his police cruiser and set out on foot to watch the foursome, according to the police.

That's when he saw one of the people run to a parked car, smash the passenger side window and grab a car stereo, police reported. Ihlen called for backup while chasing down the burglar, a 16-year-old. The teen was arrested on suspicion of vehicle burglary, resisting arrest and a probation violation, according to police.

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An 18-year-old North Monterey County resident was arrested by the Santa Cruz County Gang Task Force on Wednesday because he allegedly had a gun, authorities reported.

Hulysis Martinez, 18, and his girlfriend, a parolee, both were arrested by Watsonville police in late December after a car chase. Wednedsay evening, the gang task force went to Martinez's Trafton Road home for a parole check, according to Mario Sulay, commander of the task force.

Sulay said Martinez tucked a 9mm handgun between the mattresses of his bed. Officers got a Monterey County judge to sign a warrant for the home and, during a search, reportedly found the gun and a loaded magazine, as well as gang-related items.

Martinez told officers that he had purchased the gun from another gang member, whom he would not identify, according to Sulay. He was arrested on suspicion of being involved in an illegal firearms transaction and gang participation. He was booked into Monterey County Jail.