Police arrested a Gilroy woman who extorted more than $150,000
worth of motorcycle parts from an Indian-Victory Motorcycles
employee, threatening the victim at gunpoint at least three times
since March, police said.
Gilroy – Police arrested a Gilroy woman who extorted more than $150,000 worth of motorcycle parts from an Indian-Victory Motorcycles employee, threatening the victim at gunpoint at least three times since March, police said.
Armed and dressed in riot gear, Anti-Crime Team investigators and the Critical Incident Response Team – Gilroy’s equivalent of SWAT – searched the home of Vanessa Bullock, 43, and Jim Collier, 48, just before 8am Tuesday morning, uncovering a gun and a stash of clutch levers, foot pegs and other stolen motorcycle parts stored in their Dowdy Street home. More stolen parts were discovered at Mini-Storage Gilroy, where manager Jerry Hanselka said the couple had been renting a container for two or three months.
Bullock, who stands only 5 feet tall, had allegedly threatened an Indian-Victory Motorcycles employee at gunpoint, demanding motorcycle parts from the Monterey Street shop several times between March and July. Her victim didn’t report the crimes until July 13, terrified by Bullock’s gang ties, police said. Indian-Victory management declined to comment.
The Gilroy woman was reselling the parts on eBay, an auction Web site, said Sgt. Chad Gallacinao, who leads the Anti-Crime Team. Police are still investigating how she spent the money.
The man who shares her home, Jim Collier, is a motorcycle mechanic who works at Pro Street Custom Cycles, a Gilroy shop owned by Rick Collier. It’s unclear whether the two are related. Police are uncertain if Jim Collier knew how Bullock acquired the stolen parts. Collier was arrested on suspicion of possession of stolen property at 10:30am Tuesday, and his bail was set at $10,000. Court records reveal he was convicted twice of driving under the influence, once in 1997 and once in 1998.
Bullock was arrested just before 8am Tuesday on suspicion of extortion, criminal threats, possession of stolen property and false personation of another. She is being held without bail.
Police obtained a search warrant for the couple’s home at 7400 Dowdy Street Monday. The next morning, 15 officers surrounded the house, crouching in the eastern alley that leads from Sixth Street, alongside Victory Outreach Church. They seized computers, motorcycle parts and a gun during the Tuesday search. Passing drivers slowed to watch as police urged neighbor Al Castro and his wife to duck down, then temporarily detained them in the alley.
“We woke up to two quick bangs – I thought maybe it was a bomb or an accident outside,” said Castro. “My wife and I got up to make sure it wasn’t, and then we got ordered down at gunpoint by Gilroy officers.
“I love my alarm clock now,” Castro joked. “This was a lot worse, and I don’t want to wake up to it again!”
Child Protective Services took custody of Bullock’s two children, who were later released to a relative, Sgt. Gallacinao said. Cpl. Jim Callahan was the lead investigator on the case.
