Crazy Crimes in Gilroy

It’s been a crazy few weeks on the Gilroy crime beat. There’s been a $35,000 jewelry heist, a driver ramming a police car, a major arson at Christmas Hill Park and a slew of car thefts, car break-ins and credit card fraud.
 

July 26

The Gilroy Police and Fire departments are looking for suspects in an arson that burned 7.5 acres of Christmas Hill Park just days before the Garlic Festival.

Fire Division Chief Colin Martin said investigators found a road flare on a trail off Miller Avenue, in the easternmost section of the park.

“It was laying right on the dirt path with fresh ashes,” Martin said. “We have to look at it as an intentional set.”

He said the creek bed there has been a problem because it’s isolated.

Arson investigators look for patterns in such blazes, such as the two big Lake County fires, for which a suspect has been arrested.

Anyone with information on the Christmas Hill blaze should call Gilroy Police at (408) 846-0330
 

August 8

1:20 a.m.: A 29-year-old man was arrested at his Garlic Farm Drive home for allegedly pulling his girlfriend’s hair, stomping on her head three or four times and violating a temporary restraining order.
 

6:53 a.m.: Someone forced open the door of a Fifth Street business and stole a $300 32-inch Samsung TV from a shelf overnight. They did $900 in damage to the door frame.
 

7:15 a.m.: $900 worth of tools were stolen from the open bed of a pickup on Doris Drive overnight. They included a $400 chainsaw and a $500 weed eater.
 

7:39 a.m.: Gilroy Police found a stolen 1992 blue Honda Civic abandoned and stripped at Forest and Ninth streets.
 

9 a.m.: Someone broke into a lock box on Santa Teresa Boulevard and stole $20,000 of rent checks, sometime over the previous three days.
 

2:15 p.m.: Police units responded to a teen firing an air rifle on Church Street.
 

4:30 p.m.: A 30-year-old mother had her children taken from her and put into protective custody on the 200 block of Martin Street. Child protective services agents found the 3, 9 and 11 year-old-kids had access to illegal drugs.
 

6:33 p.m.: A man held up a 10th Street business at gunpoint, making off with $100 and driving off in a green SUV.
 

August 9

7:58 a.m.: Someone stole a 35-foot-long green privacy screen worth $87 overnight from a Hannah Street construction site.
 

7:35 p.m.: A 50-year-old man walked into the Gilroy Police Department and said he was too drunk to take care of himself. He was arrested and later released.
 

August 11

8:15 p.m.: Someone pried open the collection box in a Swanston Lane laundromat and stole $100 of quarters.
 

8:30 p.m.: Two pit bulls broke out of a yard on Old Gilroy Street and bit another dog.
 

August 12

7:51 p.m.:  A 44-year-old Valley Forge Drive woman was arrested for slapping her husband in the face two times.
 

9:57 p.m.: A 19-year-old man was arrested outside the Burger King on Leavesley Road after fighting with his girlfriend, who works at the restaurant. He claimed she was having an affair and asked her to step outside and talk. When she wouldn’t he punched and kicked her 2010 Dodge, causing more than $1,000 damage.
 

August 13

2:56 p.m.: A man with a gun held up a clerk on the 300 block of First Street and made off with $500.
 

10:20 p.m.: A 21-year-old man was arrested for driving 75 mph through a stop sign at IOOF and Murray Avenue.
 

August 14

3p.m.-5 p.m.: A $1,200 Macbook Pro was stolen from a car parked on Monterey Street. The thief broke the front window.
 

August 15

5:42 p.m.: A 44-year-old man was arrested at a Travel Circle business after he brandished a knife, threw pallets around and threatened to burn the place down.
 

7:20 p.m.: Five cars were involved in a major accident at Monterey Street and Las Animas Avenue caused by a woman who was apparently driving impaired.
 

August 16

8:29 a.m.: A Christopher High student was arrested for possession of marijuana.
 

9 a.m.: Someone stole a red 2000 Honda generator worth $1,800 from the bed of a truck on First Street and rode off with it on a bicycle.
 

9 a.m.: A minor Gilroy Gardens food sales person was arrested for embezzling $2,500 from a food booth over a three-month period.
 

4:30 p.m.: Although a man with a flat tire on Seventh and Hanna streets removed his distributor cap and ignition switch, someone still stole his gold 1995 Honda Accord with aftermarket rims.
 

5:30 p.m.: Someone broke into a 2003 Honda Pilot on 10th Street and stole a Coach purse, wallet, social security card, checkbook, clothes and makeup.
 

10 p.m.: Someone stole a 1986 black Buick Regal with a 3.8-liter turbo engine and a 2-foot grey horizontal stripe from Eigleberry street.
 

August 17

1:42 p.m.: Someone used a cloned Wells Fargo Visa card to make $35,627 in jewelry purchases at Zales.
 

5 p.m.: Someone broke into a 2010 red Ford Mustang on Arroyo Circle and stole a purse, IDs and credit cards and used the credit card for $1,000 in purchases.
 

3:55 p.m.: A 49-year-old man was arrested after allegedly leading police on a high speed chase and crashing into a police car. Mohammed Safi Eddine was booked into Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon (his car) and DUI. The chase started at Hanna and West Seventh streets when the driver failed to stop for an officer who thought he was driving suspiciously. He rammed his Ford Escort into one police car and drove head-on into another, police said.
 

August 19

1:29 a.m. An 8-year-old Polk Court child was treated at St. Louise Hospital for gonorrhea in a case of child abuse.