Crime

Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith and her challenger in the June election, recently retired Sheriff's Capt. Kevin Jensen, both agree the Sheriff's Office can do more to help better rehabilitate prisoners and parolees to prevent them from continuing to commit crimes.

For the past six months, an Ohio-based consulting firm has been studying the way the Gilroy Police Department is organized-from how many patrol units are out canvassing the streets each day to the amount of time officers spend writing reports.

The driver involved in a May 9 felony hit-and-run case has been identified by police but has not been taken into custody, according to Gilroy Police Department Sgt. Pedro Espinoza.

Felony vandalism

The Gilroy Police Department, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and California Highway Patrol will be cracking down on motorists who don’t wear seat belts beginning May 19.

The Gilroy Police Department recently responded to a variety of crimes this week, including felony sexual penetration with a foreign object while the victim is unconscious, passing a fictitious check, possession of a controlled substance and burglary. Arrests were recorded in the GPD blotter April 27 through May 5. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty.

Burglary

While Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, in California it is also a time when friends and family celebrate by attending parties and barbecues where alcoholic beverages are served abundantly, which means some of those party-goers end up driving home in an impaired state, according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.For that reason, the sheriff’s office will join with police agencies throughout the county comprising the Avoid the 13 DUI Task Force to remind Cinco de Mayo celebrants that drunk driving should never be a part of the party plans, according to a press release from the task force. As part of a weekend Avoid the 13 crackdown on impaired driving, DUI saturation patrols will be deployed in Morgan Hill, Cupertino, Los Altos Hills, Los Gatos, San Jose, Santa Clara, Saratoga and Sunnyvale, police said. Officers will be looking to identify and stop suspected drunk drivers. “Cinco de Mayo has unfortunately become one of the most dangerous days of the year, all because of drunk driving,” said Sheriff Laurie Smith. “Some people have this misconception that they can drink a little, and drive safely, but that’s just not true. Everyone needs to remember that buzzed driving Is drunk driving, and there’s never an excuse for it.” From 2011 to 2012, the number of people killed in drunk driving crashes on Cinco de Mayo more than doubled, according to the press release. In all fatal crashes in 2012, 71 percent of the drunk drivers involved had blood alcohol concentrations of almost twicethe legal limit. Authorities remind Cinco de Mayo revelers to plan your ride ahead of time by designating a sober driver before the party begins, calling a friend or taxi for a ride or using public transportation. Sober motorists can report drunk or reckless drivers by calling 911, police said. And friends are encouraged to prevent each other from driving drunk by taking their keys and helping them make other transportation arrangements. “It’s a real tragedy that 10,322 people were killed in drunk driving crashes in our nation in 2012,” Smith added. “We’ve got to put a stop to it.”The Avoid the 13 DUI Task Force is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, according to authorities. The next countywide DUI task force deployment will be for the Memorial Day Holiday Weekend, May 23 to May 26.

The Gilroy Police Department recently responded to a variety of crimes this week, including robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and embezzlement. Arrests were recorded in the GPD blotter April 22 through 28. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty.