Crime

For the second time in less than a week, a motorcyclist died April 19 in a traffic collision at the intersection of Leavesley and Holsclaw roads in Gilroy, according to authorities.

Richard “Ricky” Luciano Martinez, 53, of Gilroy, died Saturday when his Harley Davidson motorcycle crashed into a car making a turn on Leavesley Road, according to a California Highway Patrol report.

Gilroy Police are investigating several pieces of graffiti at 7101 Monterey Street that appear to be a death threat against a California Highway Patrol officer.

A Gilroy man called police at 1 a.m. Thursday and told them he saw someone tagging graffiti downtown businesses with a permanent marker.

A 26-year-old Gilroy High School teacher who pleaded no contest to 19 felonies for soliciting naked pictures from students could be sentenced to 16 months in prison in March and will be labeled a sexual predator for life.

A 48-year-old man allegedly robbed a 6-year-old boy of $5 after the youth bought a cookie, a drink and a donut for his sister from a Monterey Street store Friday at 10:15 a.m.

To the dismay of the women involved, the California Highway Patrol’s regional chief has exonerated its Gilroy commander of two allegations of improper behavior but could reach no conclusion on a third involving a pro-life prayer vigil that strayed onto state property last fall.

Two motorists—one a Gilroy resident and one from San Jose—died in a head-on collision on Hale Avenue in north Morgan Hill Tuesday afternoon, according to police.

Gilroy Police were called around noon Tuesday to the Ramada Inn at 360 Leavesley when a housekeeper saw a man in a room with a gun.

Police Blotter