Crime

The Gilroy Police Department and Morgan Hill SWAT Team mobilized Tuesday morning to serve a high-risk search warrant related to a gang assault near Sixth and Maple streets in Gilroy. The gang assault occurred over the weekend and involved three to four suspects, a couple of whom are still at large, according to GPD Sgt. Pedro Espinoza.

Police arrested a 15-year-old Morgan Hill boy early Monday morning after he allegedly went on a late-night drunken vandalism spree that included painting a swastika on a church property.

Two Morgan Hill police officers were targeted by a pellet gun shooter while searching a creek bed for a missing person Thursday night, according to a press release from the MHPD. The officers were walking along the creek bed in the area of Ciolino and Spring avenues about 5:20 p.m. Thursday when someone shot at them from a backyard on Manor Court, police said. The shooter or shooters “nearly struck” both officers, the press release said. MHPD and Santa Clara County Sheriff’s deputies searched the area for the suspect or suspects but could not find them. The press release notes that shooting a pellet gun or any weapon that propels an object is a violation of Morgan Hill municipal code, and shooting it at another person is assault with a deadly weapon. Anyone with information about this incident can contact Morgan Hill police at (408) 779-2101, or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-7867.

Here's your latest digest of criminal happenings in Gilroy, including a commercial burglary that was caught on tape, two incidents of domestic violence and an unsolved case of theft from a sunglass store.

Grand theft

The Gilroy Police Department responded to a variety of crimes last week, including human trafficking, lewd and lascivious acts with someone under 14, causing or permitting a child to suffer, and threats of violence. The arrests were recorded in the GPD blotter between Jan. 15 through 22. You can read more about the arrest of five suspects for felony human trafficking after police busted open what they call a “prostitution ring” by clicking here.

An investigation by the Gilroy Police Department last week revealed an alleged “prostitution ring” involving a 13-year-old Gilroy girl inside the Travel Inn at 5530 Monterey Road, according to GPD Sgt. Pedro Espinoza.

Authorities responded to a home on the 200 block of Martin Road Thursday afternoon, after a caller discovered a “suspicious white powder substance,” according to acting Fire Capt. Greg Lopez. The San Jose Fire Department’s Hazardous Materials Team determined at approximately 3 p.m. the substance was not hazardous.

The City of Gilroy and three developers, including the Filice family-owned Glen Loma Corporation comprised of longtime Gilroy residents, have settled a lawsuit filed by the company in 2012 involving a request to relief from more than $500,000 in “unjustified and excessive development fees,” according to court documents.

Recent regional news reports indicated that three teenage boys - one of whom now attends Christopher High School in Gilroy - pleaded guilty to felonies related to the sexual assault of a 15-year-old girl who killed herself days after the incident.