Jury convicts man in genital disfigurement case in county

SANTA CRUZ >> A jury has found a 37-year-old Santa Cruz County man who permanently disfigured another with a gunshot wound to his genitals in November guilty on several charges.

Tilden Jordan Ball kidnapped a Boulder Creek man at gunpoint on the night of Nov. 7 to a rural field. Ball then spent the night assaulting his victim physically and psychologically — including telling the man that the field was where he would be killed and buried, according to a media release from the Santa Cruz County District Attorney's Office.

The victim was found suffering from a single gunshot wound in the 100 block of Alamo Avenue after residents reported shots fired in the area around 7 p.m. that night, according to initial police reports.

“The motive for the crime was an allegation that the night before, the victim had sexually assaulted a person with whom Mr. Ball had a close relationship with,” according to the District Attorney's Office.

Ball, who previously had been convicted of violent assault-witha-deadly-weapon charges in 2005 and 2012, according to court records, was arrested in the latest case on Dec. 10.

After a 15-day trial, the jury on Thursday came back with a guilty verdict on charges including kidnapping, robbery, use of a firearm in the assault and aggravated mayhem.

“I am grateful with the outcome in this case,” Assistant District Attorney Conor McCormick, who prosecuted the case, was quoted in the release. “I hope this brings the victim some closure and helps with the continued healing process.”

Ball will appear before Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Nancy de la Peña at 8:30 a.m. June 8, for his sentencing hearing.