A Watsonville man has now been charged with the first homicide of the year in Santa Cruz county. Ricardo Jesus Garcia is believed to have accidentally fatally shot 30 year-old Octavio Varela Gutierrez the night of January 7th. The 2 were reportedly in a vehicle on South Green Valley Road, when Garcia (who was sitting in the back seat and is said to have been intoxicated) accidentally fired a weapon. The round hit Gutierrez in the upper torso as he sat in the driver’s seat. Garcia then fled the scene instead of attempting to render aid.
