Crime

Attorneys involved in the case of the man accused of murdering Morgan Hill teen Sierra LaMar continued to verbally spar over the sluggish evidence disclosure process at a hearing Friday, but the suspect again declined to enter a plea.Antolin Garcia Torres, 22 of Morgan Hill, appeared at the hearing at the Hall of Justice in San Jose. He was handcuffed and wearing County Jail inmate scrubs - a contrast to recent previous hearings where he wore a brown suit and tie. Garcia Torres is accused of kidnapping and murdering Sierra, who disappeared at the age 15 from her mother’s north Morgan Hill home March 16, 2012. Her remains have not been found, and investigators have not revealed any evidence indicating her whereabouts since finding her cell phone and a bag containing some of her clothes in the early days of the investigation. Previous recent hearings have centered around the unfinished process requiring investigators to share case files and evidence with the defendant. Authorities have said there are more than 10,000 pages’ worth of evidence in the kidnapping and murder case. Garcia Torres’ attorney Friday told Superior Court Judge Sharon Chatman that a spreadsheet listing items of evidence, provided by prosecutors and requested at Garcia Torres’ last hearing in October, was “inadequate.” The list only indicated evidence provided by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office so far, while Garcia Torres’ attorney Al Lopez was under the impression the spreadsheet would include a list of items that are “going to come our way.” Santa Clara County Deputy DA David Boyd was consequently perturbed that the defense waited until Thursday’s hearing to let him know their view on the completeness of the list of evidence. “It’s frustrating to hear these things for the first time,” said Boyd, who added that he did not indicate he would provide a more complete spreadsheet at the last hearing, as Lopez suggested. Chatman asked the prosecutor and defense attorneys to “informally” communicate their requests and complaints about the discovery or evidence sharing process to each other before court proceedings in order to speed up the process. The judge granted Garcia Torres’ request to schedule the next hearing for Jan. 9, 2014, for a status update. Boyd, noting it has been 17 months since Garcia Torres’ first court appearance following his arrest in May 2012, wanted the defendant to indicate at the next hearing when Garcia Torres will be ready for a “probable cause hearing.” Chatman asked Owens and Lopez to make such an indication at the Jan. 9 hearing. A small group of volunteers who continue to search for Sierra or her whereabouts attended Friday’s hearing. “We just wish they could speed it up more,” said volunteer Mike Nino of San Jose. “All we can do is be patient.” Nino and other volunteers meet every Saturday morning at the former site of Central High School to conduct searches. “As soon as we get more information we can find new areas to go (search),” Nino said. Sierra disappeared as she was walking to her school bus stop near the intersection of Palm and Dougherty avenues, according to authorities. She was a sophomore at Sobrato High School at the time of her disappearance. Garcia Torres is also charged with a series of unrelated attempted carjacking and assaults in 2009, which occurred in the parking lots of two Safeway grocery stores in Morgan Hill.For more information on the search for Sierra, go to findsierralamar.com.

Former Gilroy Fire Division Chief Edward Bozzo and current Fire Division Chief Phillip King have filed an appeal to a U.S. Federal Court Judge's decision to toss out a controversial year-long lawsuit in which they claimed they were cheated out of a combined $30,000 in overtime pay.

The Gilroy Police Department responded to a variety of crimes this week including continuous sexual abuse of a minor child, possession of a controlled substance for sale, burglary, assault with a deadly weapon and driving under the influence. Arrests were recorded in this week's GPD blotter from Nov. 4 through 11.

Vandals set fire to the playground slide at Paradise Valley Elementary School in the back side of campus around 6 p.m. Thursday, according to Principal Swati Dagar.

Identity Theft

The Gilroy woman found guilty of second-degree murder on July 30 for killing her daughter and husband in an alcohol and drug-fueled car crash will spend the next three decades inside a California prison.

Nelson Garcia, the Gilroy man police say is a former “known Norteno gang member” who was found guilty by a jury of resisting or delaying a peace officer in October, said Wednesday he plans on appealing his criminal conviction for the charge.

Police think a 32-year-old man arrested at a Morgan Hill hotel Tuesday on suspicion of possession of fake currency is connected to a spike in reports of counterfeit money over the last few months. Morgan Hill police contacted the man, a wanted felon, at the Morgan Hill Inn, 16250 Monterey Road, where the suspect had been renting a room, a press release from MHPD said. The suspect, Daniel J. Richards, 32 of Morgan Hill, was wanted on a felony warrant out of Orange County for alleged possession of a controlled substance and furnishing marijuana to a minor, police said. Richards was not present when police searched the hotel room, but officers observed several pieces of what appeared to be U.S. currency scattered on the floor, tables, counters and bed, police said. The currency was determined to be counterfeit and most of the bills displayed the same serial number. During the search, officers stationed in the parking lot of the hotel observed a taxi pull up to the room’s door, and saw Richards and a female acquaintance exit the vehicle, police said. Officers arrested Richards on the felony warrant, police said. A search of his person turned up about $700 in fake bills and an unspecified amount of methamphetamine. A further search of Richards’ hotel room found about $300 more in counterfeit currency, a printer and other materials associated to the manufacture of fake money, police said. Richards was booked at Santa Clara County Jail, police said. MHPD has seen a spike of reports of counterfeit being passed within the city over the last several months, and the preliminary investigation into Richards’ activity suggests he might be connected to the majority of these cases, police said. The Morgan Hill Downtown Association has scheduled a clinic on counterfeit currency for local businesses for Nov. 13 at Mama Mia’s Ristorante. A Morgan Hill police officer will be present to offer information on how to detect counterfeit money and what to do when a customer attempts to pass a fake bill.Anyone with information about this crime may contact MHPD at (408) 779-2101.

The Gilroy Police Department responded to a variety of crimes this week including battery, burglary, and carrying a loaded firearm while being under the influence of a controlled substance.

The Gilroy Police Department responded to a robbery at approximately 2:34 p.m. Tuesday at the Chase Bank located at 1177 First St., according to GPD Sgt. Pedro Espinoza. No injuries were reported.