Officers with guns drawn descended at about 2 p.m. Monday, on
the 7200 block of Hanna Street in search of two suspects they say
stole a black Chevrolet truck, raising concerns of parents who were
picking up students at Glen View Elementary School.
Officers with guns drawn descended at about 2 p.m. Monday on the 7200 block of Hanna Street in search of two suspects they say stole a black Chevrolet truck, raising concerns of parents who were picking up students at Glen View Elementary School.
About five patrol cars and 10 officers from the Gilroy Police Department, California Highway Patrol and the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office set up a perimeter at about 1:30 p.m. around the 7200 block of Hanna Street between Sixth and Eighth streets, for suspects wanted in an auto theft robbery from Saturday.
As authorities combed back yards and the alleyway between Hanna and Dowdy streets, dozens of residents alarmed by the commotion emerged from their homes.
Dina Moreno witnessed the suspects crash. She called her husband, who asked to remain anonymous, to come watch.
“I was walking out of the house and she said ‘look, look!’ ” said Moreno’s husband.
He said his wife watched the two suspects drive from the south end of the 7200 block of Dowdy Street near Glen View Elementary when they attempted to evade an oncoming police unit by making a U-turn. Moreno’s wife then witnessed the driver and passenger exit the car while it was still in motion, allowing it to sideswipe a parked white Chevrolet truck before ramming into a fence and taking a portion of it out.
GPD Officer Bill Richmond confirmed the crash happened around 12:57 p.m., and said police responded shortly after.
The Morenos said the two suspects then disappeared over a back-yard fence in one of the Dowdy residences, noting one struggled to make it over before finally succeeding.
The white Chevrolet belongs to Karina Salinas, 29. Salinas said she was cooking and went to check on her car when she heard the commotion.
GPD Sgt. Chad Gallacinao said officers caught the passenger of the stolen vehicle at 3 p.m.
GPD Sgt. Pedro Espinoza, who was on the scene, said the other suspect – described as a Hispanic male – likely made it to a friend’s house.
Shawn Lytle and Marcia King said an officer in plain clothes and a badge around his neck told them to keep their windows rolled up and to avoid talking to anyone they didn’t know after picking up their 6-year-old daughter from kindergarten at about 1:30 p.m.
“They shouldn’t be allowed to let kids out when someone dangerous is walking around,” Lytle said. “They’re telling us to be careful, but they’re letting all these kids walk home.”
Gallacinao said the school was not put on lockdown because the suspects were last seen running away from the school.
“Obviously if the suspects had ran south (toward the school), we would’ve put the whole school on lockdown,” he said.
