GILROY
– As police often say, it only takes a few troublemakers to ruin
things for a crowd of law-abiding citizens, but this year’s Garlic
Festival didn’t see enough troublemakers to ruin much public
fun.
GILROY – As police often say, it only takes a few troublemakers to ruin things for a crowd of law-abiding citizens, but this year’s Garlic Festival didn’t see enough troublemakers to ruin much public fun.
Out of more than 100,000 people who attended the three-day festival, police arrested seven as of 5 p.m. Sunday, none of them on felony charges. That’s three more than last year.
During that time, Alcoholic Beverage Control officers arrested another 12 for underage drinking and giving alcohol to minors.
Police were a major presence in the crowds, but they didn’t have much to do. Mounted officers from the Gilroy Police Department spent much of their time letting kids pet their horses, and dirt bike riders from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office didn’t have much excuse to rev their engines. Teams of GPD, county probation and state parole officers patrolled the crowds with eyes peeled, but didn’t see much to react to.
“It’s low compared to past years; that’s a fact,” Sgt. Daniel Castaneda said Sunday afternoon of the arrest rate. “We’ve been doing very well, and we’re really happy with the officers.”
The biggest incident was a fight about 5:15 p.m. Saturday near the amphitheater beer booth.
After breaking it up, police arrested four women, two from Gilroy. Tiffany Marie Paqueno, 22, of 300 Second St.; Heather Jamie Duran, 18, of 757 La Acondra Way; Vera Jovita Reyes, 22, of Hollister; and Maria Jackie Sanchez, 20, of Goleta, each face a misdemeanor charge of fighting in public.
One of the women allegedly threw a beer at an officer after the scuffle, according to Sgt. Greg Flippo, who led the mounted patrol. One woman received a facial injury from the fight, and another was hurt from being pushed down, either by the crowd or by a police horse.
Shortly afterward, two men started a separate fight. Police caught and handcuffed them, but since neither wanted to press charges against the other, they were ejected from the grounds without charges, according to Castaneda.
On Sunday about 3 p.m., police arrested a juvenile male from Gilroy on suspicion of scalping tickets. At 4 p.m. at separate locations, they arrested Rafael Jimenez, 37, of San Jose, on suspicion of public intoxication and Paul Wohlert, 37, of San Jose, on a warrant for being under the influence of a controlled substance.
Emergency medical workers had 203 requests for service Friday and Saturday and were expecting another 200 Sunday, according to Assistant Emergency Services Chair Robert Silvia Jr. Most were for blisters, insect stings or fainting symptoms – often heat- and/or alcohol-related.
The most serious was a heart attack Saturday afternoon for which a CALSTAR helicopter was called to fly the victim to a San Jose trauma center.
