WATSONVILLE (BCN) — Two teenagers were arrested and a gun was recovered Saturday after a citizen reported seeing alleged gang members meeting near a bridge in Watsonville, according to the Santa Cruz County Anti-Crime Team’s gang task force.
An officer with the gang task force took the male juveniles, ages 17 and 14, into custody with the assistance of officers from the Watsonville Police Department and the California Highway Patrol, task force officials said.
At 11:20 p.m. Saturday, a citizen phoned the gang task force to report that alleged gang members were holding a meeting on San Juan Road near the Pajaro River Bridge, the officials said.
After calling police and the CHP for assistance, a task force officer contacted four young males inside a car and soon learned that two of them were on county probation for gang affiliation and other crimes, task force officers said.
The officer noticed one of the males placing something under a car seat and later recovered a .380-caliber revolver from the vehicle, task force officials said.
The officer arrested one of the juveniles on suspicion of possessing a firearm and possessing a firearm for the benefit of a gang. The other juvenile was arrested on suspicion of violating conditions of his probation, according to task force officials.