Police on Lookout For Holiday Criminals

Authorities urge public to use caution and common sense
Morgan Hill – “Ho ho ho” can quickly turn into “Bah, humbug” when criminals take advantage of the holiday season to help themselves to other people’s goodies.

The Morgan Hill Police Department and the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department warn residents to use caution and common sense when holiday shopping.

MHPD officers will be circulating in shopping center parking lots, on the lookout for would-be thieves. The best defense for residents, said Morgan Hill police Sgt. David Swing, is to remember not to leave valuables in vehicles. 

“If you do, lock them in the trunk so they are not visible to anyone looking in vehicles,” he said. “Most of the time, these kinds of crimes are crimes of opportunity.”

This time of year, many people are more-than-usually busy and may become careless, but officers caution that shoppers need to be more vigilant, not less.

“Leaving a purse in your car, an iPod or a cell phone on a seat, may be all the invitation a thief needs to break in,” Swing said.

Last week, officers arrested a Morgan Hill man in another kind of “crime of opportunity.”

A Llagas Vista Drive resident reported a man attempted to steal packages from his porch about 3:15pm Dec. 12. The resident scared off the suspect, later found to be Garrett Bossio, 18, who had returned to the area to retrieve other packages he had hidden, Swing said. 

Officers located Bossio and took him into custody, Swing said, because the resident gave officers a detailed description of him and his vehicle. Police officers found other items in his vehicle believed to have been stolen from porches.

Swing said if anyone in Morgan Hill was expecting any of the following items to be delivered and has not received it, please contact MHPD at 779-2101: two pairs of size 9 women’s Bass shoes, a pair of Sennheiser RS140 wireless headphones, a Vivitar DVR-510 digital camera and a Microsoft Zune MP3 player with software.