Twelve football players were suspended and five of them were
arrested in connection with the burglary of more than 20 lockers
two weeks ago, police and school administrators said.
Twelve football players were suspended and five of them were arrested in connection with the burglary of more than 20 lockers two weeks ago, police and school administrators said.
Three juveniles and an 18-year-old were arrested on suspicion of possession of burglary tools and an additional juvenile was arrested on suspicion of possession of stolen property, between Monday and Tuesday, police said. The cases of the four juveniles – three 17-year-olds and a 16-year-old – were forwarded to the juvenile division of the Santa Clara County Probation Department. The case of the 18-year-old, a legal adult in California, had his case forwarded to the Santa Clara County Office of the District Attorney. At the moment, the Dispatch decided not to publish the 18-year-old’s name.
If convicted of possession of burglary tools, the students could face six months in jail and $1,000 in fines. The student accused of possession of stolen property – a portable video game system – could face a year in jail if convicted.
These five students and an additional seven students received school suspensions, but administrators would not say how many days they were suspended or whether they served these suspensions on or off campus. Administrators would also not say whether these suspensions, which carry one demerit per day off campus, gave the students a total of three demerits – the point at which students are excluded from sports and extra-curricular activities for six weeks.
A disappointing finish
On Dec. 5, soccer players and students finishing gym class returned to the boys locker room to find that someone had rifled through their lockers, administrators said. The varsity football team had been in the area just minutes before the victims returned and a coach caught the 18-year-old by the lockers with burglary tools.
The incident occurred just five days after the football team capped its most successful season in history by contending in the Central Coast Section Championship game. The burglaries “cast a shadow” on this accomplishment and sully the names of the athletes who were not involved and who are good students and citizens, Athletic Director Jack Daley said following the incident.
“It lets the community down,” he said.
Investigation secret
The disciplinary actions end more than a week of touch-and-go investigations by both police and Gilroy High School administrators.
“What happens in a situation like this is there’s a lot of kids telling partial truths and lies,” Principal James Maxwell said. “Each time (administrators) talked to students, they got more information. With one kid a little door opens and we just keep pulling kids back in.”
On Monday, Maxwell said that the school’s investigation was closed with the 18-year-old being the only player suspended. However, investigations continued in conjunction with police until the school decided they had enough evidence to suspend 12 athletes, Maxwell said. The investigation is now closed, he added.
Officers have been investigating the incident since it happened, Sgt. Jim Gillio said. Together with school administrators, police managed to recover some of the more expensive stolen items – such as portable digital music players, portable video game systems and cell phones. However, police did not arrest all 12 students that the school identified for suspension.
“The bottom line is the investigation only led to the probable cause for arrest of five (students),” Gillio said. “The school has a lesser burden of proof than we do.”
investigation under scrutiny
Though police have made arrests, the police investigation into the burglaries has been in violation of protocol, Sgt. Chad Gallacinao said. Though school administrators said they reported the incident the day it happened, the incident did not and still has not appeared on the police incident log. In fact, the officer dedicated to the schools did not report in her daily activity log that she had been out to the high school for the incident, police said.
Similarly, though the arrests were made Monday and Tuesday, they did not appear on the incident or arrest log. They only came to the public’s attention after the Dispatch reported on them. In addition, Maxwell said locker room burglaries are a perennial problem but no burglaries at the high school have shown up on police incident logs.
However, police said this was not an indication that they were lagging in their duties or underreporting events at the high school.
“The lack of a case number does not signify lack of a police investigation,” wrote Chief Gregg Giusiana in a letter to the editor.
An officer conducted more than six hours of investigations prior to filing the incident, he said. This work was done to “determine if a crime had occurred and if there were any victims that desired prosecution,” he continued.
Some thefts and burglaries at the high school are not reported because the victims are not willing to file a complaint, Sgt. Jim Gillio said. Police would not comment on specific cases.
While the investigation into the burglaries is formally closed, that does not mean that other students cannot be arrested, Gillio said.
“As with any other investigation, if other information arises, we’ll follow those leads,” he said.
