News

When a Gilroy man set about connecting the Black Bear Diner restaurant he owned with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, he didn't imagine the fundraising efforts from the company-wide initiative would be nearing the $1 million mark after just six years.

The second half of this week will feature “soaking rain and mountain snow returning to drought-stricken California,” according to a recent report from AccuWeather.com.

GILROY — The season may not have started the way Gilroy wanted it to, but Friday the team was able to end it on a high note.

Police arrested a man early Sunday morning who allegedly hit another man in the head with a shovel following a drunken altercation, according to authorities. Morgan Hill police responded to the 90 block of Bisceglia Avenue about 12:15 a.m. Sunday and located the adult male victim who had been struck in the face and head with a shovel, according to a press release from MHPD. The victim was transported to San Jose Regional Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Officers canvassed the south Morgan Hill neighborhood and gained information from a witness that led to the arrest of Juan Martinez, 24 of Morgan Hill. Martinez had been hiding on the roof a nearby residence, police said. During the investigation police determined that Martinez and the victim had gotten into a physical altercation after a night of “heavy drinking,” authorities said. Martinez was booked at Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, police said. Anyone with information about this incident can contact MHPD at (408) 779-2101, or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-7867. 

The Rams' season may not have gone according to plan, but they ended things on a high note.

The Gilroy Police Department responded to an attempted murder and domestic violence incident at approximately 11:54 p.m. Saturday near the 8000 block of Church Street, according to GPD Sgt. Pedro Espinoza.

GILROY — The rivalry between Gilroy’s Paul Fox and Christopher’s Alex Garcia just keeps getting better.

A two-year investigation by Santa Clara County authorities has uncovered an elaborate identity theft scheme, resulting in the arrest of a southern California family and the recovery of a cache of contraband including a kilogram of cocaine, assault rifles and even a grenade launcher, according to a press release from the District Attorney’s Office.The investigation by the DA’s Rapid Enforcement Allied Computer Team (REACT) began in 2012 after Gilroy Police arrested two of the six suspects for using counterfeit credit cards to purchase luxury Rolex watches, according to authorities. On Friday, the DA’s Office announced that the six suspects - who are allegedly members of a vast identity theft organization - were recently arrested and charged for their involvement in the scheme, authorities said. The suspects are accused of secretly installing electronic “skimming” devices into gas station pumps to steal credit card information, the press release said. The “skimming crews” implanted the devices on gas pumps throughout the Bay Area and elsewhere, siphoned credit card information, created counterfeit credit cards and then bought more than $500,000 in merchandise - mostly Apple computers. REACT investigators think that three of the suspects are members of a single family. The suspects are in custody on felony identity theft charges. Mother and son - Petra Vaca, 53 of Ontario, and Luis Gomez, 33 of Yucaipa - were scheduled to be arraigned at the Hall of Justice in San Jose Friday afternoon. Facing similar charges is Lupe Castelar, 35 of Fontana - Vaca’s daughter - who will appear in court at the Morgan Hill courthouse March 4, authorities said. “The motivation of thieves remains the same, but they are becoming ever more sophisticated, using technology instead of crowbars and handguns,” DA Jeff Rosen said. “REACT investigators are combining high-tech forensics and old-fashioned police work to protect the community against a new generation of tech-savvy criminals.”Following the arrest of two of the suspects in 2012, authorities identified them and the other suspects as residents of southern California who had been using counterfeit credit cards created from information skimmed from local gas pumps, authorities said. In December 2013, investigators tracked two crews who drove from southern California to Sunnyvale to buy more than $80,000 in merchandise with fake credit cards. The ensuing investigation determined the credit cards were created from information stolen from credit card skimmers secretly placed in gas station pumps in San Jose, San Francisco, Los Altos, Fremont and Redwood City. During the arrests and searches in Ontario, Fontana, Whittier, and Yucaipa, California earlier this month, REACT investigators confiscated hundreds of counterfeit credit cards, dozens of fraudulent California drivers’ licenses, over two dozen credit card skimming devices, credit card manufacturing lab equipment, a kilogram of cocaine and multiple weapons, including assault rifles and a grenade launcher, authorities said.