Crime

Starting in October, South County residents will have to drive to Santa Clara or San Jose to contest traffic citations or file civil claims. Starting Oct. 6, Santa Clara County Superior Court will close the traffic, civil and small claims courts at the Morgan Hill Courthouse, according to a press release from Superior Court Presiding Judge Brian Walsh. The same court services will also close at the Palo Alto courthouse. Residents with traffic violations will have to travel to the Santa Clara Courthouse to contest their citations or pay fines. Those filing or fighting small claims or civil suits will have to go to the downtown San Jose courthouse. The closures are part of the local court’s effort to close an $8.5 million operating deficit due to “significant and continuing” cuts by the state of California, according to Santa Clara County Superior Court Executive Officer David Yamasaki. The closures won’t fill that entire gap, but the court is looking at other ways to reduce the remainder of the deficit, Yamasaki said. “Obviously, personnel represents the core of our budget, about 85 percent,” Yamasaki said. “We have to look at our personnel costs to help remedy this problem.”Currently, 22 staff people deliver traffic, civil and small claims court services out of the Morgan Hill and Palo Alto facilities. The loss of traffic court services will likely produce the heaviest impact on South County residents. The Morgan Hill facility serves about 22,000—or 13 percent—of the county’s total traffic cases, Yamasaki said. Civil and small claims in South County represent about 3 percent and 6 percent, respectively, of the county’s total, Yamasaki said. 

A Gilroy doctor accused of killing his wife, Doris Mae Knapp, last April will get pre-trial freedom.

The Gilroy Police Department made arrests for a variety of crimes this past week, including assault with a deadly weapon, oral copulation with a minor, making threats to commit a crime resulting in death and possession of metal knuckles. Arrests were recorded in the GPD blotter between July 21 and 27.

The Gilroy Police Department responded to a variety of crimes this week, including criminal threats, burglary, embezzlement, possession of a firearm by a felon and child endangerment. Arrests were recorded in the GPD blotter between July 16 to 21.

The husband of a missing woman who disappeared from her sister’s westside home in Gilroy appeared to have committed suicide, a Sonoma County Sheriff Coroner’s Office spokeswoman confirmed.

Residential burglaryAn unknown suspect, between noon and 8 p.m. July 19 on the 13000 block of Monterey Highway in San Martin, entered the victim’s apartment and stole paperwork and ignition keys to several vehicles the victim is attempting to sell.Petty theftSalvador Montejano, 25, between 5:15 and 5:30 a.m. July 18 on the 14000 block of Santa Teresa Boulevard in Morgan Hill, stole an American flag from the victim’s yard valued at $20. Montejano had a warrant out of Orange County for theft of a vehicle.BurglaryAn unknown suspect, between 5:30 p.m. July 12 and 3:30 p.m. July 13 on the 5000 block of Santa Teresa Boulevard in Gilroy, climbed over an enclosed fenced-off area, pried open a supply closet and stole approximately $350 in power tools.DrugsJeffrey Alan Netzel, 66, 9:13 a.m. July 21 on Monterey Bolsa At Monterey Highway in Gilroy, for possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.Leon Lee Lamson, 43, 9:40 a.m. July 16 on Murray Avenue at Leavesley Road in Gilroy, for possession of drug paraphernalia.Pedro Medina Zepeda, 49, 8:52 p.m. July 14 on Monterey Highway at San Martin Avenue in San Martin, for possession of methamphetamine.Olga Suarez, 35, 11:35 a.m. July 14 on Colombet Avenue at Bravo Court in San Martin, for possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia. Vanessa Amber Sabedra, 20, 3:34 a.m. July 14 on the 40 block of Hornlein Court in Gilroy, for possession of methamphetamine and possession of drug paraphernalia.Ryan Andrew Walton, 26, 11:12 a.m. July 13 on the 7100 block of Camino Arroyo in Gilroy, for possession of heroin and a probation violation.Frank Theodore Mockey, 54, 4:33 p.m. July 12 on the 13000 block of Llagas Avenue in San Martin, for possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.Stolen vehicleRandy Ray Hughes, 58, 12:38 a.m. July 21 at Monterey Highway at Blanchard Road in Coyote, for possession of a stolen vehicle and possession of methamphetamine for sale. Hughes was found in the driver’s seat of a stolen Toyota 4Runner that had a screwdriver in the ignition. He was also found to have 19.8 grams of methamphetamine.Ashley Marie Flores, 24, between noon and 12:45 p.m. July 20 on the 13000 block of Sheila Avenue at Sycamore Drive in Morgan Hill, for theft of a vehicle and petty theft. Flores stole $50 from the victim’s wallet and then took off in the victim’s vehicle.An unknown suspect, between noon and 3 p.m. July 14 on the 13000 block of Sycamore Avenue in San Martin, stole the victim’s truck.Loud musicMichael Joseph Ambrosio, 48, on the 1600 block of Main Avenue in Morgan Hill, for amplified music between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Deputies had been called to the same residence five other times in the past two months for similar complaints.Re-enter Repossessed LandSteve Alan Hendricks, 61, between 2:59 and 5 p.m. July 21 on the 100 block of Ogier Avenue in Morgan Hill, for re-entering repossessed land after being given proper eviction notification and returning to collect his property without notifying the staff.—All subjects are innocent until proven guilty. Information compiled from public records.