Crime

New sexual assault charges filed Tuesday against 20-year-old Morgan Hill resident Nicolas Lhermine added two more children – including a 3-year-old girl – to the YMCA employee’s list of victims, authorities said.

The Gilroy Police Department has announced that its traffic unit will be conducting a DUI and driver's license checkpoint beginning 9 p.m. Friday and ending at 3 a.m. Saturday at an unknown location within city limits.

Authorities arrested a southern California man who traveled to Morgan Hill with the intent of having arranged illegal sexual relations with two minors, according to Morgan Hill police. Stephen Lewis, 21 of Oceanside, was arrested Saturday following a multi-agency sting involving Morgan Hill Police, Homeland Security Investigations and the Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, a press release from MHPD said. Lewis, who lives in southern California, contacted a man over the Internet who agreed to allow Lewis to have sexual relations with his two minor children, police said. The man contacted by Lewis was in fact an undercover agent. The undercover agent and Lewis arranged a predetermined time and location in Morgan Hill to meet, police said. When that meeting happened, Morgan Hill police took him into custody without incident. Lewis was later booked at Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of meeting a minor to engage in lewd or lascivious behavior and possession of child pornography, police said. “Law enforcement works diligently to protect everyone in our communities, especially children who are the most vulnerable,” Morgan Hill Police Chief David Swing said. “I am very proud of the dedicated professionals who worked as a team to keep this predator from victimizing children.” Joseph Vincent, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations in San Jose, added, “Many child sexual predators mistakenly believe they can act on their unconscionable urges with impunity and anonymity online, but as this case shows, nothing could be further from the truth. Homeland Security Investigations will continue to work closely with its law enforcement partners here and around the globe to target those engaged in the sexual exploitation of children to see that they are held accountable for their crimes.” Anyone with information about this case can contact MHPD at (408) 779-2101, or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-7867. 

The former Gilroy Unified School District Board of Education trustee charged with swindling $52,000 from a leading South County nonprofit; using campaign donations for personal expenses; and defrauding an international engineering firm out of “tens of thousands of dollars” for meetings that supposedly never occurred; will appear at 2:30 p.m. Oct. 17 for probation and sentencing in Dept. 38 at the Hall of Justice in San Jose.

Morgan Hill police arrested three people with a trove of stolen property after making a routine traffic stop on a vehicle occupied by two of the suspects early Friday morning, authorities said. About 3 a.m. Friday, an officer stopped a vehicle occupied by Adam Stout, 29 of Milpitas, and Brianne Campana, 22 of San Jose for a traffic violation, according to a press release from the Morgan Hill Police Department. The officer learned that Stout was on probation and police conducted a search of the vehicle, police said. Found in the vehicle were an unspecified amount and type of narcotics and drug paraphernalia. Police also learned that Stout and Campana were staying in a room at the Quality Inn, 16525 Condit Road, and officers searched the room, according to the press release. Found inside the hotel room were more than 70 pieces of stolen property from six different cities in two counties, according to police. A third suspect - Karlee Douglas, 19 of San Jose - was in the room when officers arrived, and she was arrested, police said. All three suspects were booked at Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of possession of stolen property, possession of narcotics, probation violation and being under the influence of a controlled substance, police said. Anyone with information about this case can contact MHPD at (408) 779-2101, or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-7867. 

The Gilroy Police Department this weekend apprehended a Gilroy man who allegedly brandished and fired a firearm in Christmas Hill Park back in August.

The Gilroy Police Department made dozens of arrests this past week. Some of the offenses included burglary, driving under the influence, infliction of corporal injury on a spouse, possession of a controlled substance, selling or aiding in selling stolen property, evasion of a peace officer and conspiracy to commit a crime. Here is the police blotter from Sept. 5 through Sept. 12.

Drugs

A house fire in an east Morgan Hill neighborhood caused about $50,000 worth of structure damage Wednesday night, according to authorities.About 6:18 p.m. the 911 dispatch center received a call reporting the fire on Darnis Circle, according to CalFire Fire Prevention Specialist Pam Temmermand. The blaze started in the garage of the home, and spread to the attic, Temmermand said. Crews estimate about $50,000 worth of damage was inflicted by the blaze.The fire started accidentally, but authorities did not elaborate on the cause.No injuries were reported.  

A San Jose man was arrested after leading Morgan Hill police on a high-speed chase that originated with a report of loud music, police said. About midnight Wednesday, officers responded to the area of Del Monte Avenue and Preservation Way after someone called to report loud music coming from a parked Lexus, according to an MHPD press release. As officers arrived on scene, the vehicle fled to a home on the 15000 block of Del Monte Avenue and three occupants of the Lexus fled into a house, police said. Police ran the Lexus’ license plate and learned the vehicle’s registered owner was wanted on a no-bail warrant, the release said. Officers questioned two of the three people who fled into the nearby residence, and they were uncooperative. Officers stayed at the scene to keep an eye on the parked Lexus, and after about an hour the car was seen leaving the residence, police said. Officers tried to stop the vehicle but the driver led police on a high-speed pursuit to San Jose, where the driver abandoned the vehicle and attempted to continue to flee on foot on Aborn Road. Police caught up to the suspect, later identified as Brandon Harrell, 23 of San Jose, and arrested him, according to police. Harrell was booked at Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of evading an officer, resisting arrest and a felony warrant. Anyone with information about this incident can contact Morgan Hill Police at (408) 779-2101 or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-7867.