Dear Editor,
I have an office in the suites at Dry Creek Village. On Jan. 5
at around 4:20pm, I left my office for approximately three to four
minutes. In the short time I was gone, someone stole my laptop and
purse. My first call was to the police. By the time the officer
arrived, I was on the phone with American Express to report my
stolen card. American Express told me that someone had just used
the card five minutes before at Sears on First Street in
Gilroy.
Dear Editor,
I have an office in the suites at Dry Creek Village. On Jan. 5 at around 4:20pm, I left my office for approximately three to four minutes. In the short time I was gone, someone stole my laptop and purse. My first call was to the police. By the time the officer arrived, I was on the phone with American Express to report my stolen card. American Express told me that someone had just used the card five minutes before at Sears on First Street in Gilroy.
While Officer Dale Viale requested a vehicle be dispatched to Sears, I called the store. The clerk said the person that used the card had just left, but was able to give us a detailed description. Officer Viale radioed the description to the officers that were on their way to Sears.
I then got back on the line with American Express where I was told the card had just been used again, about five minutes before, at Long’s Drugs. Office Viale passed this information along to the officers in the field. By the time the officers got to Long’s, the perp had just left, but they were told he headed in the direction of Nob Hill.
At this point, I believe they had several officers in the Nob Hill Shopping Center looking for this person. They spotted someone fitting the description at the Nob Hill checkout. American Express called back and said someone was trying to use the card “right now” at Nob Hill. Again, Officer Viale passed this information to the officers and they arrested him when he came out of the store. He had my credit cards in his wallet and my laptop and purse in his car.
I want to thank the Gilroy Police Department, Officer Viale and all of the officers involved for their quick action and response. Because they took this seriously, acted quickly, and showed great teamwork, all the stolen items were recovered and the bad guy went to jail. The total time between the actual theft and the arrest was only 45 minutes! Thank you again and keep up the great work!
Barbara Tervooren, Gilroy
