A Scotts Valley business owner was arraigned Tuesday, Aug. 30, after he was arrested over the weekend on two child pornography possession charges and one drug possession charge.
According to a report from the Scotts Valley Police Department, officers contacted Aladdin Winchester, 62, at his television repair shop early the morning of Saturday, Aug. 27, while patrolling the Kings Village Shopping Center.
Police Sgt. Mike Dean said officers noticed at 1:30 a.m. that the door to Scotts Valley TV was open and found Winchester asleep inside.
As the officers followed Winchester to the rear of the shop to retrieve his identification, they saw that “he had child pornography in plain view,” Dean said.
Dean said that after a warrant was issued, officers found methamphetamine and more child pornography. Several computers were taken for analysis.
Among the hundreds of images seized, Dean said, were sexually suggestive and explicit photos of adolescent boys and girls.
Bail was set for $25,000 after Winchester pleaded not guilty Tuesday afternoon at the Santa Cruz County Superior Court. A confirmation hearing was set for Sept. 9 with the preliminary court date set for Sept. 12, according to prosecutor Nicole Jones of the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office.
