Three 16-year-olds caught in parking lot behind Chips ‘N’
Salsa
Gilroy – Three teens cutting school Thursday afternoon were caught breaking into vehicles in the parking lot behind Chips ‘N’ Salsa, police said. As two of the teens fled the scene, Anti-Crime Team investigators chased them down in a nearby alleyway and found them in possession of stolen property.
The Gilroy teens, all 16 years old, were arrested on suspicion of auto burglary about 12:30pm. According to Gilroy Police Sgt. John Sheedy, one of the boys was just released from juvenile probation last month.
Police received a call reporting three individuals were acting suspiciously, peering underneath cars in the parking lot and loitering. When police arrived, two of the teens standing watch whistled to the third suspect and took off on foot down an alleyway heading north.
The third teen was struggling with the owner of the car, who came outside after his buzzer alerted him that his alarm was activated, Sheedy said.
According to police, the suspects stole a CD case with CDs, DVDs, haircutting instruments, and had removed two screws from the stereo.
In the past month, there has been a rise in auto burglaries. Last month, there were twice as many auto burglaries during the same period the year before.
Investigators are questioning the teens about their involvement in additional auto burglaries. Their fingerprints will be compared to those taken at past crime scenes.
“It’s possible they are related,” Sheedy said.
Gilroy Police Department’s School Resource Officer Cherie Somavia will report the incident to school officials.
