A Morgan Hill woman police say was driving a stolen vehicle and
was on
probation for auto theft was arrested and booked into Santa
Clara County Jail Wednesday afternoon after a traffic stop.
A Morgan Hill woman police say was driving a stolen vehicle and was on
probation for auto theft was arrested and booked into Santa Clara County Jail Wednesday afternoon after a traffic stop.
Lucinda Sanchez, 18, was arrested for auto theft, alleged possession of a billy club or similar illegal weapon, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, being an unlicensed driver, being a minor in possession of alcohol, possession of an open container of alcohol in a vehicle.
Also in the vehicle were two girls ages 16 and 15 and three boys ages 15, 16 and 17. All were released to their parents, according to Morgan Hill police Sgt. Shane Palsgrove.
The traffic stop happened just before 2 p.m. on West Main Avenue just west of P.A. Walsh Elementary School. Traffic officer Max Cervantes spotted the Honda with six juveniles in it, four of them in the rear seat, so he pulled them over for a seatbelt violation. As he approached the car, he realized the teens were wearing red and had gang tattoos and called for backup. As one of the teens started to get out of the back of the car, the dispatcher reported to Cervantes that the license plate showed the car to be stolen.
Several Morgan Hill officers responded to the scene, placing the school on lockdown because it was considered a high risk traffic stop, and closed the road from Crest to Peak avenues.
According to Palsgrove, the teens were removed from the car one by one at gunpoint. Officers found a cut-off steel pipe lying beside the driver’s seat in the vehicle.
No one was injured during the traffic stop, and the teens were arrested without incident. The school was locked down for approximately 20 minutes, with parents waiting outside to pick up their students.
Palsgrove added that there may be a gang enhancement added to Sanchez’s charges because the teens are believed to be gang members.
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