Monthly Archives: November 2013

WATSONVILLE — The Christopher High football team sure took advantage of its Watsonville opponent.

GILROY — Gilroy coach Brian Boyd said before the season that he didn’t care about the team’s record, just making the playoffs. With two weeks left in the season, nothing has changed.

The Gilroy Police Department has been awarded a new traffic safety grant for an anti-DUI program aimed at preventing deaths and injuries on the City of Gilroy’s roadways, according to a press release from the Gilroy Police Department.

At about 9 p.m. Halloween night, a lone suspect wearing a black ski mask entered a gas station at 601 First St. The alleged thief was holding a black bag that appeared to have a heavy item and presented a note to an employee demanding money, according to a Gilroy Police Department press release.

Police are looking for a suspect who schemed with a Morgan Hill man to defraud several victims out of a total of at least $3.5 million in a real estate scam, authorities said. Terrence Brown, 48, and Antranik Kabajouzian, 35 of Morgan Hill - co-founders of the Bay Area Equity Group - are charged with multiple felonies including grand theft and securities fraud, according to a press release from the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. They are accused of fraudulently misusing their clients’ money in a scheme that included investing unwitting clients’ money into dilapidated homes in Detroit. Brown is currently wanted on a $3.5 million warrant, according to authorities. Kabajouzian was arrested Oct. 22 and remains in custody in lieu of $3.5 million bail. “We are looking for more victims in this case,” prosecutor Katharina Wells said. “Unfortunately, these defendants preyed on many people with promises of unrealistic profits.”Kabajouzian and Brown allegedly induced individuals to invest in out-of-state properties, representing that the properties were habitable, rehabilitated and occupied, the press release said. The suspects guaranteed the investors a 15 percent rate of return. In fact, many of the properties were located in the depressed real estate market of Detroit, Mich., authorities said. The properties had not been rehabilitated. Many were empty, uninhabitable and vandalized. Some had been condemned, and title was never transferred to investors as promised. Some properties were sold simultaneously to other investors. Anyone with information about Brown’s whereabouts can contact DA’s investigator Santiago Trejo at (408) 808-3757, or call local police. The DA’s Office has set up a hotline dedicated to receiving criminal complaints from the public regarding Bay Area Equity Group, Brown and Kabajouzian, the press release said. The hotline number is (855) 350-7232. Callers will be instructed to leave their contact information, and DA’s office staff will follow up by contacting the callers. 

Legions of miniature superheros, masked villains, vampires, zombies, cartoon characters, celebrities and more peacefully invaded downtown Morgan Hill with their grownup enablers on Halloween night, while merchants held them at bay with free candy and street games. The Morgan Hill Downtown Association hosted the annual Safe Trick or Treat event Thursday night, closing Monterey Road to automobile traffic allowing costumed children and their parents to safely pursue confectioneries and show off their threads. Mini baseball, face painting and other games were offered throughout Monterey Road, and the Kiwanis club turned an empty lot on Third Street into a haunted pirate’s cove. For the first time this year, Safe Trick or Treat also featured live music, with Blue Dog performing in front of the former site of Simple Beverages. It was also the first night for the new Thursday night farmers market, which will continue year-round from 3 to 7 p.m. at the corner of Monterey Road and Third Streets.MHDA president Brad Jones said the feedback from the trick-or-treating so far has been positive, and organizers were able to work through some logistical glitches including a miscue on the preferred timing of the street closure. “The weather was fantastic, and people seemed to have a great time,” Jones said. “Having the band seemed to be really exciting, and for such short notice on the farmers market, I thought that went well.” 

When Don Christopher puts his name on something, it’s important to him that whatever it is, it’s of the highest quality and executed with the most efficiency - case in point being his Christopher Ranch label that has risen to grandiose stature among California growers since opening in the 1950s.

Here's your weekly digest of criminal happenings in Gilroy, including a gas station robbery, assault at a local night club and a bust for possession of methamphetamine for sale.

City Council will be considering during its upcoming regular meeting Monday an amendment to Gilroy City Code that could limit the consumption of alcohol in public parks to a reservation and permit-only basis.