The SCPD arrested James Alexander Oehler, 23, on Saturday for the murder of an as-yet-unnamed Santa Cruz man who had a “significant history of drug-related arrests.”
The SCPD arrested James Alexander Oehler, 23, on Saturday for the murder of an as-yet-unnamed Santa Cruz man who had a “significant history of drug-related arrests.” Police say that the murder was part of a “drug rip-off” on Friday orchestrated by Oehler. It was the city’s fifth homicide this year, and the second that was not gang -related. The other non-gang related incident was a case of domestic abuse which ended in a murder suicide.
Oehler was arrested after neighbors reported seeing someone digging around their houses. He was apparently looking for the murder weapon, which he had buried at the scene of the crime. As soon as police arrived, Oehler ran off, but he eventually surrendered after police threatened to release a dog on him.
Credit for the arrest is being shared with local residents who reported the crime and to another group that refused to allow Oehler entry into their apartment building when he was being chased by the police. Read more at the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
