Quick Response Leads to Arrest in Watsonville Sexual Battery Case
WATSONVILLE, CA – October 2025 — Watsonville police swiftly apprehended a man accused of sexual battery involving a teenage girl earlier this afternoon. The incident occurred around 12:42 p.m. on the 100 block of Riverside Drive.
According to a police statement, a group of teenagers was walking in the area when the suspect approached one of the females, inappropriately touching her before leaving the location. Officers responded to the subsequent 9-1-1 call and were able to locate the individual nearby in approximately four minutes.
Upon being located, the suspect was reportedly engaged in an act of vandalism on a vehicle. The individual resisted arrest when officers attempted to take him into custody; however, police were ultimately successful in detaining him.
The suspect was identified as 35-year-old Jose Mendoza Pulido, a transient. He has been booked into the Santa Cruz County Jail on multiple charges, including sexual battery, vandalism, resisting arrest, and possession of unlawful paraphernalia. The Watsonville Police Department completed the arrest and the case is being processed through the justice system.
A records search indicates that this is far from Mendoza Pulido’s first brush with Santa Cruz County law enforcement – his prior arrests can be viewed here.
