GILROY
– It was dismissal time Tuesday afternoon at El Roble Elementary
School when police officers from Morgan Hill and Gilroy descended
on the area to arrest a stalking suspect across the street.
GILROY – It was dismissal time Tuesday afternoon at El Roble Elementary School when police officers from Morgan Hill and Gilroy descended on the area to arrest a stalking suspect across the street.
Having reason to believe the suspect might be armed and dangerous, Gilroy police asked El Roble administrators to lock down the school. Then they arrested Frank Anthony Ruberto, 39, of Cameron Park, at gunpoint, without incident, at the Sunset Gardens housing complex on Third Street at Wren Avenue.
Ruberto turned out not to be armed.
Morgan Hill police Sgt. Rick Rodriguez said Ruberto was booked into County Jail on a felony stalking charge.
Rodriguez said Ruberto is accused of stalking a Morgan Hill woman for about the past month. The woman reported to police last week that the man had made threats against her and vandalized the door to her home.
Rodriguez described the two as acquaintances.
Students were sheltered for about 35 minutes, starting at 2:15 p.m., Nebesnick said. He estimated police lifted the lockdown at 2:50 p.m.
During the lock down, teachers kept all children in locked classrooms and faculty or staff members patrolled the hallways and bathrooms until police lifted the alert, according to El Roble Principal Mike Nebesnick. In such a situation, he said, the safety of students is the school’s top priority.
The incident delayed dismissal by 15 to 25 minutes. El Roble normally dismisses students in grades one through three at 2:25 p.m. and those in grades four and five at 2:35 p.m.
