GILROY
– When city police arrived at the Forest Park Inn parking lot
Monday night to check out a report of two suspicious young men,
they reportedly found the men hurriedly stuffing gloves down their
pants.
GILROY – When city police arrived at the Forest Park Inn parking lot Monday night to check out a report of two suspicious young men, they reportedly found the men hurriedly stuffing gloves down their pants.
Two vehicles nearby had smashed windows.
That was enough for police to investigate the two 18-year-olds for suspicion of auto burglary. Upon searching Alfredo Quintanar, of 160 Lilly Ave., and Tomas Jesus Gonzales, of 500 IOOF Ave., police said they found screwdrivers, a flashlight, a knife and latex gloves. They arrested both young men on felony burglary charges and misdemeanors for possession of burglary tools.
Someone at the Forest Park Inn, located at 375 Leavesley Road, had called police to report that the men were behaving suspiciously, police said.
If the men are guilty, the arrest would take two of Gilroy’s auto burglars off the streets, relieving hundreds of past victims and those who fear their car or truck might be hit next.
Burglaries in general have been on the rise in Gilroy this past year. Gilroy police documented 164 burglaries in the first three quarters of 2003, 37 percent more than the 120 from the same time period in 2002. Gilroy police staff have not yet compiled burglary totals for the fourth quarter of 2003.
Despite the recent increase, there are far fewer burglaries here than there were a decade ago, when police were recording more than 400 a year. Burglaries dropped 67 percent from 1993 to 2002, according to police statistics. Auto burglaries make up a large portion of the city’s burglaries, although police could not provide the exact percentage.
