An off-duty law enforcement officer’s report of suspected mail
theft led to the arrest of three people who were in possession of
hallucinogenic mushrooms Thursday night, according to the Gilroy
Police Department.
An off-duty law enforcement officer’s report of suspected mail theft led to the arrest of three people who were in possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms Thursday night, according to the Gilroy Police Department.
Heather Blackbourn, 22, Mario Santiago, 32, and Brittany Morales, 21, were arrested after officers found the illegal mushrooms, along with burglary tools, stolen property and a weapon in their vehicle when police responded to a report of a suspicious female stealing mail, police said.
At about 10 p.m., the officer noticed a woman taking mail from mailboxes in the 7300 block of Fowler Street, police said. The officer provided the GPD with a suspect description as well as a description of a vehicle that dropped her off. The officer followed the woman, and observed her looking into vehicles parked in the area.
A short time later, the vehicle that dropped off the woman returned to pick her up, and GPD officers soon arrived and conducted a traffic stop, police said.
Officers identified the driver, Gilroy resident Santiago, and two female passengers, Salinas residents Blackbourn and Morales.
A parole compliance check was conducted, and police located several items of mail which did not belong to the occupants of the vehicle, burglary tools, an illegal weapon, stolen property and an undisclosed amount of suspected Psilocybin mushrooms determined to be for sale, according to the GPD.
All three occupants were arrested and booked into Santa Clara County Jail on charges of mail theft, possession of a controlled substance for sale, use of access card account information without consent, possess/manufacture/sell of a dangerous weapon, possession of stolen property, possession of burglary tools, possession of personal identifying information with intent to defraud and conspiracy to commit a crime.
