Merced man has outstanding warrants, several auto theft
charges
A Merced man was arrested Wednesday and booked into Santa Clara County Jail on several charges and outstanding warrants after he allegedly stole some construction equipment in Gilroy and ran from police when stopped in Morgan Hill.
Michael Neto, 25, was arrested on four counts of auto theft, for being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a stolen handgun and three outstanding warrants, according to Morgan Hill police Cmdr. David Swing.
The Regional Auto Theft Task Force, or RATTF, was watching a location in unincorporated Gilroy because of previous thefts of construction equipment from the site, and RATTF members followed Neto back to Morgan Hill after he reportedly stole a piece of equipment.
Swing said officers stopped Neto’s vehicle near the Tennant Avenue and Vineyard Boulevard intersection, and he took off on foot. Two passengers in the vehicle were detained, he said, but after interviews with RATTF were later released because they were not involved with the thefts.
Officers were given information that Neto, believed to be armed, may have holed up in a warehouse in the area, so RATTF and Morgan Hill police officers set up a perimeter and closed Vineyard Boulevard to traffic while they prepared to enter the warehouse.
The information was incorrect, Swing said, and officers later learned Neto had fled the area and taken a bus or gotten a ride back to Gilroy. He was arrested without incident in Gilroy later Wednesday afternoon.
Neto was associated with a pursuit south of Morgan Hill, ending when he fled on foot in the area of Las Animas Road and Murray Avenue at the northern tip of Gilroy several weeks ago, Swing added.
