Crime

Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen announced Aug. 3 that he is sponsoring an “unprecedented” statewide ballot initiative that seeks to “transcend the bitter politics of gun control and save the lives of crime victims, the suicidal and children.” If approved by voters, the...

Sheriff's department conducted an undercover sting at a Monterey

Police are looking for a suspect who schemed with a Morgan Hill man to defraud several victims out of a total of at least $3.5 million in a real estate scam, authorities said. Terrence Brown, 48, and Antranik Kabajouzian, 35 of Morgan Hill - co-founders of the Bay Area Equity Group - are charged with multiple felonies including grand theft and securities fraud, according to a press release from the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. They are accused of fraudulently misusing their clients’ money in a scheme that included investing unwitting clients’ money into dilapidated homes in Detroit. Brown is currently wanted on a $3.5 million warrant, according to authorities. Kabajouzian was arrested Oct. 22 and remains in custody in lieu of $3.5 million bail. “We are looking for more victims in this case,” prosecutor Katharina Wells said. “Unfortunately, these defendants preyed on many people with promises of unrealistic profits.”Kabajouzian and Brown allegedly induced individuals to invest in out-of-state properties, representing that the properties were habitable, rehabilitated and occupied, the press release said. The suspects guaranteed the investors a 15 percent rate of return. In fact, many of the properties were located in the depressed real estate market of Detroit, Mich., authorities said. The properties had not been rehabilitated. Many were empty, uninhabitable and vandalized. Some had been condemned, and title was never transferred to investors as promised. Some properties were sold simultaneously to other investors. Anyone with information about Brown’s whereabouts can contact DA’s investigator Santiago Trejo at (408) 808-3757, or call local police. The DA’s Office has set up a hotline dedicated to receiving criminal complaints from the public regarding Bay Area Equity Group, Brown and Kabajouzian, the press release said. The hotline number is (855) 350-7232. Callers will be instructed to leave their contact information, and DA’s office staff will follow up by contacting the callers. 

You might think of them as the anti-Santa Clauses. Scammers. They're watching, waiting and given the opportunity, they'll make their holidays bright at your expense. But, with good sense, and with some tips from the Gilroy Police Department and the AARP, there's help to...

GILROY

Police have arrested MediLeaf co-founder Goyoko "Batzi" Kuburovich in connection with a multi-million dollar embezzlement “scandal” – however the charges are a separate can of worms from Kuburovich’s harried past concerning alleged illegal cannabis sales and money laundering.

A fire that ravaged through 24 acres in the New Idria area has

A San Jose man pleaded no contest to attempted pimping, and was

Morgan Hill police arrested a former Safeway employee and his accomplice after the pair allegedly stole about $20,000 cash from the grocery store’s safe early Thursday morning. Just past midnight Aug. 22, Mario Bellinghausen, 22 of Santa Nella, entered the store wearing a surgical mask to hide his identity, according to a press release from Morgan Hill Police. As a former Safeway employee, Bellinghausen was entrusted with the code to the store’s safe. He even spoke to his former manager at the store just before the heist. Bellinghausen stole more than $20,000 from the store's safe and was seen running out of the store to get away in his car, police said. Later that day, officers located Bellinghausen with half of the stolen cash, police said. Then on Aug. 24, police identified and arrested Yesmith Sandoval, 22 of Los Banos, at a pizza parlor in Los Banos, police said. She had the remaining loot from the burglary, minus a share used by Bellinghausen to bail out of jail. Both were booked into Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of conspiracy and burglary, police said.Police think the pair orchestrated the burglary as a retaliation to Safeway for terminating Bellinghausen’s employment at the store. Detectives recovered “nearly all” of the cash stolen from Safeway, police said. Anyone with information about this case can contact Morgan Hill Police at (408) 779-2101. 

Police are reviewing a surveillance tape to find two men who