Alexander Chavez, a 19-year-old Hispanic male from Gilroy, was booked into the Santa Clara County jail this weekend for an alleged residential burglary after two bystanders detained him in a citizen’s arrest following a foot/car chase near the intersection of Fourth and Princevalle Streets.
“It’s nothing you expect to come home to, a man in your house,” said Nicole Tufte, 37, who lives on the 700 block of Fifth Street with her roommate, Nancy Larocque, 37. “He ransacked the house. It was pretty awful.”
The Gilroy Police Department responded to reports of an interrupted residential burglary around 12:12 p.m. Sunday at Tufte and Larocque’s home.
According to Tufte, who had left the house around 11 p.m., Larocque came home shortly after noon as Chavez was allegedly stealing $1,500 worth of jewelry from their bedrooms.
The suspect bolted down the hallway, ran out through a sliding glass door and headed down Princevalle Street toward First Street. Larocque took after him on foot.
“She was just running after him screaming at him,” said Tufte. “But we live in a pretty tight community. The neighbors saw her running and just took action.”
Two observers ended up pursuing the suspect in their cars – then jumped out of their vehicles to detain Chavez until police arrived on scene, Tufte said.
After GPD officers arrived and arrested Chavez, Tufte said she watched as police emptied the contents of Chavez’s backpack. Officers found a large masonry jar filled with rolled-up sandwich bags of marijuana and a medical marijuana card.
“He had about 50 little cigar-sized bags, all pre-portioned to sell,” said Tufte.
The break-in also caused Tufte’s dog, a 2-year-old Viszla named Lula, to go missing for four hours after Chavez allegedly left the gate open. One of Tufte’s cats escaped and was later found two blocks away, she said. Lula eventually returned home on her own.
Tufte said the suspect broke into their home through a small bathroom window, which is usually locked. Tufte just happened to leave open it on Saturday to air out the house.
When Larocque called Tufte to tell her what happened, Tufte said her roommate was heavily shaken by the alarming intrusion.
“I couldn’t even differentiate what she was saying,” Tufte said.
The GPD reminds in its press release to be alert during this holiday season and report any suspicious activity in your neighborhood.
Parties wishing to remain anonymous may do so by calling WeTip at 1-800-782-7463.
