Crime

The Gilroy Police Department made arrests for a variety of crimes the past week, including burglary, vehicle theft, possession of a stun gun and the sale of stolen property. Arrests were recorded in the GPD blotter between Nov. 30 and Dec. 7. All suspects remain innocent until proven guilty, and an appearance in the arrest log does not signify guilt for the listed crime/s.

Caltrain will be hosting an emergency preparedness drill on the tracks of the train station in Gilroy on Dec. 6 from 7:30 a.m. until noon, according to a press release from Caltrain.   

The Gilroy Police Department will be cracking down on drunk drivers this holiday season as a way to combat a nationwide increase in alcohol-related fatalities on the roadways. Locally, the GPD will have a DUI/drivers license checkpoint somewhere within city limits on Dec. 12 and six additional DUI patrols will be roving the Garlic Capital.

Following a recent revelation in court that Paradise Valley Elementary School teacher John Loyd is now suspected of sexually assaulting four children, Morgan Hill police are seeking anyone who might have had inappropriate contact with the suspect over the years. The Morgan Hill Police Department...

The Gilroy Police Department made arrests for a variety of crimes this past week, including rape by force or violence, grand theft, assault with a deadly weapon and driving under the influence. All arrests were recorded in the GPD blotter between Nov. 23 and 30. All suspects remain innocent until proven guilty, and an appearance in the arrest log does not signify guilt for the listed crime/s.

Federal officials are continuing to investigate the cause of a small plane crash near Gilroy earlier this month that claimed the life of both occupants—including a 69-year-old Gilroy man and his 18-year-old granddaughter.

The father of a teenage girl who was beaten during a road rage incident in Gilroy is hoping a man who helped stop the attack will come forward to be recognized as a Good Samaritan.

A U.S. District Court Judge sentenced the founders of a Bay Area real estate development firm, including Michael Sims of Gilroy, to prison on investment fraud charges and ordered they pay back millions in restitution.

Santa Clara County officials and animal advocates are seeking responsible owners for 38 unhealthy horses seized from a pair of ranches in Morgan Hill and Gilroy.The owner of the horses, Humberto Rivas Uribe, 51 of Morgan Hill, was charged Nov. 14 with two counts of cruelty to animals—one felony and one misdemeanor, according to Deputy Supervising District Attorney Steve Lowney.The horses—which, after a lengthy investigation, numerous news reports and ongoing complaints from neighbors, which were found to be emaciated and neglected—were seized by county Animal Care and Control Nov. 13. They had been under Uribe’s care on two properties he tended, one on Maple Avenue in Morgan Hill and the other on Center Avenue in Gilroy.Uribe is currently in custody in San Mateo County on unrelated charges, according to the DA’s office. Facing a $250,000 warrant, he will be arraigned at a later date. If convicted of the local animal cruelty charges, Uribe could face up to three years in county jail.The San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office did not return phone calls regarding what charges that jurisdiction has pending against Uribe.Lowney said the DA’s office began receiving complaints toward the end of September from members of the public “deeply concerned about the treatment and care” of the horses. In late October, protesters picketed the South County animal control offices on Highland Avenue in San Martin, demanding the county officers take action against Uribe.After reviewing the information obtained from the public and the reports from county animal control, the DA's office in late September assigned a Deputy DA and an investigator to assist animal control in their investigation of possible animal cruelty and neglect, according to the press release.Lowney and Deputy DA Alexandra Ellis met with concerned citizens several times during the investigation, the press release said. Throughout October and early November, investigators and animal control officers interviewed the defendant and witnesses, and collected evidence.Some said they have been complaining about the care of the horses on Uribe’s properties for more than two years.Horse advocates “will be continuing to insist animal control be held accountable for their neglect,” said Trina Hinesar, a resident of Maple Avenue near where some of the unhealthy horses were housed. “Maple Avenue was ignored for over two years and there are neighbors at the Center (Avenue) location that can testify to four years of animal control not enforcing our current Santa Clara County codes.”Earlier this year, a concerned neighbor bought three of the horses, while the Equine Rescue Center and Sanctuary in Paicines purchased a dozen more, according to authorities. One of the horses purchased by ERC, a bay colt, died in September from complications due to intestinal parasites. The colt died the day after Uribe sold it.But Uribe acquired even more horses, according to the DA’s press release.Still, horse people rejoiced at the news of Uribe’s arrest and the seizure of the horses. Members of the Facebook page “Morgan Hill Horses in Need” have continued to post information about the horses and the county’s efforts to find good homes for them.According to the MHHIN page, some of the animals have already been transported to a local horse ranch, but up to 30 remained in the care of the county. “We feel that the horses would be better off in a rescue organization that can tend to the horses’ various medical needs, then be adopted out” to the public, reads a Nov. 15 post on the Facebook page.The horses are now listed for adoption, with a photo of each animal, on the county website sccountypets.org. County officials are seeking qualified individuals or rescue organizations to adopt the animals.“For now, Animal Care and Control has assumed care and feeding of the horses until the horses can be placed in new homes,” said Amy Brown, Director of the Consumer and Environmental Protection Agency. “We will be screening applicants to make sure that potential adopters can properly care for the horses.”

The Gilroy Police Department made arrests for a wide variety of crimes this past week, including grand theft, evading police in a vehicle, cruelty to a child, lewd or lascivious acts on a child and burglary. All arrests were recorded in the GPD blotter between Nov. 9 and 16. All suspects remain innocent until proven guilty, and an appearance in the arrest log does not signify guilt for the listed crime/s.