Here’s your weekly digest of criminal happenings in Gilroy, including a bar fight, assault, fraud, pursuit of a stolen vehicle and various grand thefts.
Don’t bet on this
GPD Sgt. Pedro Espinoza says this is fairly common in Gilroy: A swindler pretending to possess a winning lottery ticket will approach an unsuspecting citizen. The suspect will say that he can’t cash the ticket because he is an undocumented immigrant. The swindler will then offer to sell the “winning” ticket, but says he needs collateral in the meantime. At 11 a.m. Sept. 11, GPD responded to a call on the 300 block of First Street. The victim told police that he pulled $20,000 cash in exchange for what the suspects claimed to be a winning ticket worth $150,000. The ticket turned out to be fraudulent and the suspects made off with the cash. They are still at large.
Domestic battery at Gilroy Gardens
On August 7, two Santa Cruz residents – a former couple – were at the Gilroy Gardens amusement park along Hecker Pass Highway. A verbal argument ensued as Ismael Valdez, 34, confronted the woman he was with about a phone call and struck her on the face, causing a traumatic injury. The woman’s children were also with her. Security with Gilroy Gardens attempted to confront the suspect, but he was uncooperative. Valdez was arrested at 1:48 p.m. by the Gilroy Police Department and booked for domestic battery.
Vehicle pursuit ends in foot race, suspects lose
GPD officers saw a suspicious vehicle at 11:49 a.m. Sept. 10 near the intersection of Day Road and Santa Teresa Boulevard and recognized that it matched a car that had been reported as stolen. The officers attempted a stop and a pursuit ensued, as the suspects took off at a high rate of speed. The occupants of the stolen car abandoned it on San Martin Avenue and were quickly located. Both suspects, Danielle Tollison and Athena Morales, 28 year-old transients from San Jose, were arrested.
Karma lies in wait
St. Mary’s School reported to police that someone in North Carolina cashed eight checks using the school’s checking account number. The loss was $2,862 – all taken from the school’s account. GPD Public Information Officer Pedro Espinoza said there is no indication how the suspects got a hold of the account number, but said check forgery can often involve printing checks using the victim’s information. The suspects are at still large, but authorities obtained information from the drivers’ licenses used by the suspects to cash the forged checks.
Grand theft handrail
An employee at a recycling center on the 6400 block of Chestnut Street called police after someone tried to recycle parts of an aluminum handrail taken from a building. Sections of the handrail – valued at $5,000 – had been cut and taken from the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s water treatment facility. GPD obtained a description of the suspect’s vehicle and checked a couple of homes but have yet to apprehend the culprit.
Bar dispute turns ugly
At 12:08 a.m. Sept. 15, police responded to a report of a bar fight involving 20 people at the Gilroy Sports Tavern at 7421 Monterey St. Espinoza said there’s no indication the altercation was gang-related, but two separate groups began arguing and fighting. Bottles were broken and two injured people showed up at the emergency room with “serious face lacerations,” according to Espinoza. No one wanted to report what happened or talk to the police. When police first arrived, three fled on foot but were later arrested for resisting/obstructing. The suspects who caused the injuries are unknown.
