Man arrested in connection with felony assault case
SANTA CRUZ >> A 25-yearold Santa Cruz County man was arrested Friday on suspicion of physically assaulting and threatening to stab a woman with his hypodermic needle earlier this week.
Santa Cruz police investigators, working Santa Cruz County Probation and the Santa Cruz County Gang & Narcotic Task Force, identified Esteben Sanchez as the man seen in department- acquired security video footage approaching a River Street resident Wednesday evening while she washed a car in her driveway. The man is visibly seen attacking the masked resident, striking her numerous times with his hands and feet while she sprays him with her garden hose.
Prior to the assault, the woman reportedly observed people injecting narcotics nearby, according to a police department release from Lt. Warren Barry. The resident and the two individuals “exchanged words” before one threatened to stab the female, he said.
“The victim fought back in an effort to defend herself and was able to retreat back into her yard,” the release states. “The subject fled the area on foot. The victim sustained serious injuries to the head and face, and was treated at a local emergency room.”
Sanchez, already on probation in Santa Cruz County, was arrested and booked into Santa Cruz County jail on suspicion of felony assault with a deadly weapon, felony battery, terrorist threats and mayhem.
Contact reporter Jessica A. York at 831-706-3264.
Santa Cruz police arrested 25-year-old Esteban Sanchez on Friday on suspicion of felony assault.