Fest Weekend Keeps Cops on Their Toes

Suspicious fire at Britton Middle School, fights and gang
sightings keep police and fire officials busy
Morgan Hill – A fire at Britton Middle School Sunday that caused an estimated $500,000 in damage was just one of several incidents that kept police and fire personnel busy last weekend.

Officers responded to a report of a fire at Britton Middle School on Central Avenue at 9:30am.

A portable building north of the school was on fire, Morgan Hill Police Sgt. Rick Rodriguez said, and Santa Clara County Fire Department engines responded to the blaze, which apparently started on the outside of the building and spread to the inside. The fire was contained in about 20 minutes. An investigation is under way, and the fire is labeled as suspicious.

That same day, MHPD officers recovered a stolen vehicle from Gilroy. The driver, Juan Barajas, 24, of Gilroy was arrested for allegedly stealing the vehicle. Ismael Nuñez, 23, of Gilroy was a passenger in the vehicle and was arrested on unrelated charges, Rodriguez said.

The Mushroom Mardi Gras weekend kicked off Saturday morning, but the action began Friday night when police responded to calls about a man hit by a vehicle. The accident occurred about 10:20pm on Monterey Road, according to Morgan Hill police Sgt. Rick Rodriguez. 

Pedro Chacon, 40, was transported to Regional Medical Center, Rodriguez said. The female driver was not charged, he added.

Saturday night, after the festival ended at 6pm, calls for service began to increase Rodriguez said. There were reports of fights, some with weapons involved, but when officers arrived on the scene, the parties had disbursed, he added.

There were sightings of outlaw motorcycle gangs and street gang members during the festival, according to police.

“There were some individuals flying some (gang) colors, but no incidents,” Cmdr. Joe Sampson said. “But as I was walking in the crowd, in plain-clothes, I did hear some gang-related individuals talking about how many cops there were at the event. A show of force makes them think twice about doing anything wrong.”   

There were two arrests, a parole violation and a female shoplifter.

“We’re very pleased with the way the police department handled the event,” said Sunday Minnich, event coordinator. “That’s an expense we have to incur, obviously, for public safety.”

“We had no thefts at night,” Minnich said. “There were some vendors that didn’t even cover their merchandise, just left it out at the booth, and it was fine, because we had the security presence as well as police officers checking the area.”

There was one arrest for shoplifting on Sunday, Sampson said. A festival-goer told police a woman appeared to be taking items from each booth as she walked through the downtown area. When officers stopped her, they allegedly found a variety of things apparently from different booths. She also had a warrant for theft from San Jose, Sampson said. 

Donna Terry, 47, was taken into custody without incident.

Overall, from the police perspective, the festival was a success, Sampson said. 

“Sunday was a lot more crowded than Saturday,” he said. “Probably one-third more than Saturday. Compared to last year, the crowd was more family-oriented. We had three times the amount of law enforcement. This is our second year going through it (having the festival downtown), and we had our bases covered.”