Crime briefs: Fight over prostitute, violent suspect caught by police dog

Gilroy Police responded to a number of crimes this week, both the violent and the just-plain-odd. Here is a sampling of those incidents:

Fight over prostitute

At 8 p.m. on March 27, Francisco Leiva-Pineda, 25 of Gilroy, met with a prostitute at Motel 6 on Monterey Road that he met online. During their meeting, Leiva-Pineda felt he did not get his money’s worth, sexually speaking. When he confronted the prostitute, she called a male companion – an alleged pimp, according to Police Sgt. Pedro Espinoza – and the two men got into a verbal argument. The pimp entered his car; Leiva-Pineda followed him and attempted to ram him with his car. He was subsequently arrested for driving under the influence. 

Violent suspect flees, caught by police dog

At 2:47 a.m. March 29, John Carillo, 21 of Gilroy, allegedly ran from Gilroy Police when they tried to arrest him for assault with a deadly weapon. He fled on foot but was caught two blocks down the road on Fifth Street and Gourmet Alley by a Gilroy Police K-9. Carillo endured puncture wounds from the animal bite and was treated at Saint Louise Medical Center before he was taken to Santa Clara County Jail. This is an ongoing investigation, Espinoza said, and the GPD will release more details later.

Motel embezzlement

An employee of America’s Best Value Inn is suspected of embezzling $1,900 from the company since January. The 20-year-old female employee was fired on March 15, and hotel management handed the investigation over to the GPD last week.

Smoking kids start building fire

Two 12-year-olds and one 11-year-old tossed a lit cigarette in the laundry room of an apartment building on the 600 block of Fairview Drive at 6 p.m. on March 31, starting a small fire and causing smoke damage to the building. All three of them were released to their parents.

Bag of pot found in donated guitar

An employee from Goodwill Industries in on First Street found a large bag of 34 grams of marijuana taped inside a donated guitar at 9 a.m. on March 30. The employee called the GPD, who took the marijuana and locked it up for destruction.