KRKC COUNTRY

A former correctional officer at the Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad was sentenced on Friday, October 5 to 1 year in jail for attempting to have sex with a prison inmate. Juliana Vanesa Picazo was arrested in June of  2018 and accused of conspiracy to commit a crime and having unauthorized communication with a prisoner. Officials at the Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad said Picazo stepped down from her position as a correctional officer in February of 2018.

The Monterey County Sheriffs Department announced on Thursday, October 4 that Coroners Detectives have positively identified the remains of a person located near Greenfield on Friday, September 28 to be 33-year-old Julian Lopez. The Coroners office confirmed Lopez' ID through dental records. Detectives were called to the scene near Greenfield on Friday, September 28 where Human remains were found a mile north of the Elm Avenue Bridge. The investigation revealed that the human remains of Lopez are connected to an incident from February of 2017 where a pedestrian was hit by a vehicle and thrown off a bridge. Lopez went missing after being thrown into the Salinas River in a DUI crash. 23-year-old Nicanor De Jesus Sanchez who was the driver that struck Lopez and his nephews was driving with a blood alcohol content of .23 when he crashed through a road closure gate at the Elm Avenue bridge, East of Greenfield. Sanchez pleaded guilty this past summer to gross vehicular manslaughter whi...

With the Midterm General election a month away many people spoke at a luncheon and regular meeting put on by Southern Monterey County Republican Women Federated at Lawrence's Restaurant in King City on Tuesday, October 2. District #1 King City Councilwoman Darlene Acosta spoke about what she wants to focus on during her next 4 years on the Council as she runs for another term unopposed. King City Mayor Mike LeBarre addressed the crowd about how much progress has been made during his 4 years in office as he runs for a Council seat in District #2 unopposed. Greenfield City Councilman Lance Walker talked about why he's running for Mayor of Greenfield.

A vegetation fire flared up sometime between 12 pm and 1 pm on Tuesday, October 2 off of Nacimiento and Fergusson Road near a Training area in Stony Valley at Fort Hunter Liggett. The blaze scorched over 450 acres. The Fort Hunter Liggett Fire Department was assisted by Cal Fire and officials from the Los Padres National Forest. The blaze was knocked down at around 5 pm. No one was hurt and no structures were damaged. The cause of the fire is unknown.

The Salinas Police Department was informed by the Soledad Police Department that they had arrested 37-year-old Victor Manuel Rico for possession of a firearm in their jurisdiction on Tuesday, October 2. During their investigation it was revealed that Rico had discharged the handgun in Salinas at 2 separate locations. Rico allegedly discharged the firearm into the ground. Salinas Police officers had responded to both areas after two ShotSpotter activations, but they were unable to locate any evidence. The first one occurred at 8:24 pm on Monday night, October 1 in the area of East Market Street and 2nd Avenue, while the second ShotSpotter activation took place on Tuesday morning, October 2 at 1:45 am in the Chinatown area. Rico was booked by the Soledad Police Department.

On Monday night, October 1 sometime after 7:30 pm, a fatal collision involving four vehicles occurred on southbound US-101 near Salinas, north of Spence Road. The accident took place when 44-year-old Luciano Rojas Medina of Salinas was driving a Chevy Silverado the wrong way northbound in the southbound #1 lane of US-101 colliding head on with a Nissan Frontier traveling on southbound US-101. A Honda Odyssey was also hit on the right side along with a BMW that was struck at the front end. The driver and only occupant of the Nissan Frontier has been identified as 68-year-old Raymundo Navarro of Gonzales who died from fatal injuries he sustained in the crash. Medina, the driver of the Chevy Silverado Medina received moderate injuries and was transported to Natividad Medical Center in Salinas. A 44-year-old female passenger in the Honda Odyssey sustained minor injuries and refused to be transported to a Hospital. Medina was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcoho...

More details have been released regarding a fatal accident that occurred on Highway 101 Southbound north of King City on Sunday night, September 30. The crash involved 3 vehicles and took place a little after 7:30 pm resulting in the death of 18-year-old Marcelino Martinez of Salinas who was driving a gray 2001 GMC Yukon that was traveling northbound on US-101 south of Teague Avenue at 80 to 90 mph when it drifted into the dirt center divide. The Yukon then overturned into the southbound 101 traffic lanes where it was struck by a blue Chevy Cruze that was operated by 47-year-old Eliseo Sanchez of King City. The Chevy Cruze then came to rest on the right hand shoulder and the GMC Yukon came to rest blocking the #1 lane of southbound US-101 with no lighting equipment activated. The right front juvenile passenger of the Yukon exited the vehicle and ran into the center divide. A Dodge Ram 1500 driven by 63-year-old Peter Garin of King City was heading southbound on US-101 in the #1 lane,...