Crime

The 12-time felon and Gilroy man who killed his wife’s puppy by throwing it against a wall more than a year ago was sentenced Friday morning to six years in state prison, a much shorter sentence than the 25 years to life he was facing.

Two City of Gilroy Fire Department engines responded to a fire that was started by a burning candle at approximately 1:45 p.m. Wednesday. The fire occurred inside a homeless encampment along the west side of the railroad tracks behind the Gilroy Dispatch newsroom office, located at 6400 Monterey Road.

If you ask Morgan Hill resident Peter Kohlstadt, the scandal

The driver of a stolen vehicle led police on a high-speed chase from Gilroy to north Morgan Hill Friday before crashing and fleeing the scene on foot, according to authorities. As of about 12 p.m., officers on the scene were still searching for the driver of the vehicle which crashed near the intersection of U.S. 101 and Coyote Creek Golf Drive, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Herb Kellogg. The incident prompted Morgan Hill Unified School District staff to place Sobrato High School, on Burnett Avenue, on a “code blue” lockdown while the suspect was hiding out. But district staff said there were no apparent or immediate “safety concerns” to the students and staff on campus. The high-speed chase started in Gilroy, when a Gilroy police officer spotted the stolen vehicle on the road and began following it, Kellogg said. The officer briefly lost sight of the vehicle in the area of Masten Avenue, but caught up to it on the freeway. Police continued to chase the vehicle - described as a black Chrysler by emergency communications staff overheard on a police scanner - northbound on U.S. 101 until it crashed in the area of Coyote Creek Golf Drive. The driver - the only known occupant of the vehicle - fled the crash site on foot into the nearby Coyote Creek bed. The suspect is still under pursuit by officers at the scene, Kellogg said. “Multiple agencies are involved” in the search for the suspect, Kellogg said. Kellogg did not know why the stolen vehicle crashed, or if any other vehicles were involved. The accident and the alleged crime are under investigation. More details on this incident will be posted as they are available. 

A GPD dog sniffed out $120,000 worth of cocaine last week on U.S. 101 just north of town. 

Those passing through Starbucks on First Street and Wren Avenue for their morning lattes were taken aback when the coffee shop’s parking lot turned into a blood-spattered scene around 7:30 a.m. Thursday. The owner of a pit bull fled the scene after his dog allegedly attacked a smaller dog in the parking lot, giving it serious injuries that led to its euthanization, and sending its owner to the hospital.

A 48-year-old Oakland man was killed when his 1972 Volkswagen

A juvenile was stopped because he did not have lights on his

Gilroy police officers responded to St. Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy at 10:45 p.m. Wednesday, after a stabbing victim was transported to the emergency room by a private party.