Crime

The Gilroy Police Department recently made arrests for a variety of crimes, including assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and causing or permitting a child to suffer. Arrests were recorded in the GPD blotter between Aug. 31 and Sept. 7.

A Superior Court judge upheld the city’s termination of a former Morgan Hill police officer who illegally deleted photos from a suspect’s cell phone and repeatedly lied about his actions following a 2011 incident that led to an internal investigation, according to court documents.

After an eight-month nationwide search for a new fire division chief, Gilroy Fire Department Chief Alan Anderson recently announced that Mary Gutierrez, formerly with the San Jose Fire Department, will serve Gilroy beginning Oct. 1.

The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office identified the woman found burnt to death on the side of a rural Morgan Hill road Aug. 28 as Julie Teresa Calocci, 35 of San Jose. Investigators have not released any additional information about the apparent homicide. No potential suspects have yet been identified. Authorities responded to the area of Oak Glen Avenue and Uvas Road about 8 a.m. Aug. 28 in response to a call reporting someone was on fire about 30 feet off the side of the road. The caller, a passing motorist, saw smoke off the side of the road, and was concerned it might have been a grass fire, authorities said. The motorist stopped to investigate and saw a body on fire in the brush.Sheriff’s deputies, paramedics and fire personnel arrived and found a smoldering grass fire and a body down an embankment, according to authorities. Paramedics pronounced Calocci dead upon arrival, police said. Friends of Calocci’s have set up a site at gofundme.com to raise money for her burial expenses. “Julie was a California native that loved her children, friends and family (and) she enjoyed the outdoors, music, the beach,” reads a message on the site. Money raised through the site will be used “for a proper memorial and cremation service.”The site can be found at gofundme.com/dyx3js.Anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area of Oak Glen Avenue, Uvas Road and Chesbro Reservoir about 8 a.m. Aug. 28 can call the sheriff's office anonymous tip line at (408) 808-4431.

Vehicle theftAn unknown suspect, between noon Aug. 7 and 11:59 p.m. Aug. 31 on the 2900 block of Scarlett Road in Gilroy, cut locks to a storage and stole two three-wheeled ATVs and a dirt bike from the unit.An unknown suspect, between 11:44 p.m. Sept. 2 and 5:30 a.m. Sept. 3 on the 11000 block of Columbet Avenue in Gilroy, stole a 1994 Honda Accord from the victim’s driveway.Residential burglaryAn unknown suspect, between 12:30 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Sept. 2 on the 2800 block of Dryden Avenue in Gilroy, forced entry into a residence by breaking a bedroom window and stole jewelry box with about $150 in jewelry and a men’s gold wedding band. The total value of items stolen was estimated at $550.DrugsAntonio Zepeda, 33, 12:25 p.m. Sept. 4 on the 80 block of Highland Ave. in San Martin, for being under the influence of a controlled substance. Zepeda locked himself in the restroom of the facility and refused to leave multiple times. He admitted to smoking methamphetamine the previous night.Anthony Junior Gonzales, 48, 5:02 p.m. Sept. 3 on Leavesley Road at Forest Street in Gilroy, for possession of methamphetamine.RobberyAn unknown suspect, 5:45 p.m. Aug. 31 on the 17000 block of Condit Road in Morgan Hill, stole a purse from the victim.VandalismAn unknown suspect, between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. Aug. 30 on the 15000 block of Foothill Avenue in Morgan Hill, broke two windows of a residence causing $900 in damages.An unknown suspect, between 10 p.m. Aug. 30 and 9 a.m. Aug. 31 on the 600 block of Tatum Avenue in Gilroy, tagged a trailer with graffiti with estimated repairs at $200.—All subjects are innocent until proven guilty. Information is compiled from public records.

The owner of a furniture store, with locations in Gilroy, San Jose and Vacaville, was arrested Sept. 3 and charged with stealing more than $20,000 from customers, according to a press release from the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.

The arraignment for a Morgan Hill man charged with sexually assaulting four young children under his care at a YMCA facility on a local elementary school campus was continued at South County Courthouse, according to authorities. Nicolas Lhermine, 21 of Morgan Hill, is now scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 25, according to Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Stuart Scott. The arraignment follows a preliminary hearing on Lhermine’s case in August, in which a Superior Court judge determined prosecutors have enough evidence to put him on a trial before a jury. Lhermine faces a maximum penalty of life in prison on the charges he sexually assaulted the children, the oldest of whom was 7 years old. He is charged with lewd and lascivious acts with a child younger than 12, oral copulation on a child younger than 10, possession of child pornography and production of child pornography. He pleaded not guilty to the charges at a hearing in March.Lhermine is accused of assaulting the children at a daycare center run by the YMCA on the campus of Paradise Valley Elementary School in southwest Morgan Hill, according to authorities. He was arrested by Morgan Hill police July 12, 2013, and authorities think he victimized the children in the preceding weeks. A fifth alleged victim in the wide-ranging case is a 17-year-old girl of whom investigators found nude pictures on Lhermine’s mobile phone, according to police. The girl was not affiliated with the YMCA program, but Lhermine knew her.Police arrested Lhermine after a 6-year-old girl under his care at the YMCA program told her parents and investigators that he forced her to engage in inappropriate contact in the bathroom of the daycare site, authorities said. During the initial investigation, police found the pictures of the 17-year-old girl. During a follow-up investigation that included assistance from YMCA staff who reached out to the parents of all children who had ever been under Lhermine’s care at the YMCA, authorities identified three more alleged female victims - ages 3, 5 and 7 at the time of the incidents, police said.The suspect worked as a child care aide at the YMCA day care facility during the alleged assaults and has held numerous positions—including youth soccer coach—in his four years of employment at the YMCA, according to authorities.

The Gilroy Police Department, in cooperation with the Santa Clara County Department of Public Health, conducted a sting operation Aug. 29 to check whether local tobacco retailers would sell to minors. Of the 26 businesses checked-23 or 88 percent-refused to sell tobacco to minors, while three retailers sold to underage decoys, police said.

A Los Banos man and suspect in a pending stalking case led police officers in a cross-town pursuit Aug. 27 that ultimately ended in his arrest, according to Gilroy Police Department Sgt. Pedro Espinoza.

The Gilroy Police Department made arrests for a variety of crimes this week, including attempted murder, sexual battery, kidnapping and possession of methamphetamine for sale. Arrests were recorded in the GPD blotter between Aug. 14 and 21.