Tag: Morgan Hill

Police arrested a suspected thief after a resident observed the man stealing mail out of mailboxes on a north Morgan Hill residential street, according to authorities. Morgan Hill police were dispatched to the 19000 block of Cheyenne Court on a report of a suspicious person about 3 a.m. Tuesday, according to an MHPD press release.Officers contacted the suspect, Erik Gonzales, 36 of San Jose, on suspicion of possession of stolen mail and possession of a stolen vehicle, police said. The resident who reported the crime told dispatch they saw Gonzales removing mail from mailboxes along the street and placing the items into an orange Mitsubishi convertible, police said. When officers arrived to the neighborhood, they located the Mitsubishi which had paper dealership plates, according to the release. Police approached the vehicle and saw Gonzales sitting inside. The car “was filled with stolen mail from nearby houses (and) in fact the vehicle he was sitting in was also stolen out of San Jose,” police said. Gonzales was booked into Santa Clara County Jail, according to police. Police gave credit to the resident who reported Gonzales’ suspicious behavior for helping to arrest the suspect. Anyone with information about this case can contact Morgan Hill Police at (408) 779-2101 or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-7867. 

A carbon monoxide leak at the Vineyard Town Center Starbucks forced the coffee shop to close briefly while surrounded by emergency crews Tuesday morning, according to authorities.

The Hollister woman who pleaded no contest to trying to slip sleep-aid medication to toddlers under her care at a Morgan Hill daycare facility was sentenced to six months in Santa Clara County Jail Monday, according to authorities. Deborah Gratz, 59 of Hollister, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Kenneth Shapero following a hearing at South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill. She was sentenced to six months in jail followed by four years of formal probation, with a list of conditions for her release during probation, according to Deputy District Attorney Sumerle Davis. In May, Gratz pleaded no contest to five counts of attempted child endangerment as part of a plea bargain with the D.A.’s office. The misdemeanor charges stem from Gratz’ attempt to put a sleep-aid drug known as Sominex into the sippy-cups of some children under her care at Kiddie Academy daycare in Morgan Hill, authorities said. Gratz had worked at the daycare business since 2007, and has worked in the childcare field for about 20 years. The attempted drugging occurred in early March, according to police. Another employee of Kiddie Academy saw Gratz place an unknown substance into the sippy cups of about 10 toddlers between the ages of 1 and 2. Staff at Kiddie Academy determined that Gratz had placed the over-the-counter sleep-aid medication in the children’s drinks, police said. The staff fired Gratz and reported the attempted drugging to Morgan Hill police. Officers investigated the incident, and arrested Gratz March 11 at her home in Hollister. None of the children were harmed by Gratz’ actions, police said. Police added that Gratz had a “spotless” record during her career as a daycare professional until the incident at Kiddie Academy was reported. Gratz remains out of custody, but she is required to report to South County Courthouse to begin serving her six-month sentence in jail Sept. 27, Davis said.

In his spare time, Morgan Hill resident Steve Dinh solves the world's most difficult math problems.

After hearing a parade of threats of political backlash from concerned community members and vague warnings about the potential danger of charter schools, the City Council – baffled by the utter complexity of the process – on Wednesday denied Rocketship Education's request to pursue up to $50 million in bonds to finance a new charter school in Morgan Hill.

The U.S. Supreme Court's June order for California to release 10,000 prisoners by the end of the year – citing the state's prison overcrowding as a violation of the 8th Amendment – has left Gilroy police balking at the thought of thousands of convicts being dumped on the streets.

Morgan Hill police arrested a former Safeway employee and his accomplice after the pair allegedly stole about $20,000 cash from the grocery store’s safe early Thursday morning. Just past midnight Aug. 22, Mario Bellinghausen, 22 of Santa Nella, entered the store wearing a surgical mask to hide his identity, according to a press release from Morgan Hill Police. As a former Safeway employee, Bellinghausen was entrusted with the code to the store’s safe. He even spoke to his former manager at the store just before the heist. Bellinghausen stole more than $20,000 from the store's safe and was seen running out of the store to get away in his car, police said. Later that day, officers located Bellinghausen with half of the stolen cash, police said. Then on Aug. 24, police identified and arrested Yesmith Sandoval, 22 of Los Banos, at a pizza parlor in Los Banos, police said. She had the remaining loot from the burglary, minus a share used by Bellinghausen to bail out of jail. Both were booked into Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of conspiracy and burglary, police said.Police think the pair orchestrated the burglary as a retaliation to Safeway for terminating Bellinghausen’s employment at the store. Detectives recovered “nearly all” of the cash stolen from Safeway, police said. Anyone with information about this case can contact Morgan Hill Police at (408) 779-2101. 

Antolin Garcia Torres, the Morgan Hill man accused of kidnapping and killing Sierra LaMar, declined to enter a plea yet again Thursday at the Hall of Justice in San Jose today, as the attorneys involved in the case have yet to complete the evidence sharing process.

Since the passing of Town Cats' beloved president and founder, Rosemary (Rosi) Mirko, in early July, the no-kill cat shelter and adoption center in Morgan Hill has made some changes and is looking ahead to the future.