A $10,000 tool heist and high speed car chase ended abruptly
when the three suspects ditched their van on U.S. 101 and tried to
make a run for it.
A $10,000 tool heist and high speed car chase ended abruptly when the three suspects ditched their van on U.S. 101 and tried to make a run for it.
Police arrested Luis Gil, 18, Walter Lopez, 30, and Joel Santos, 23, early Monday morning after the men stole about $10,000 worth of chain saws, generators and other power tools from Abbott’s Pro-Power, a power equipment and tool repair center on the 100 block of Luchessa Avenue near Chestnut Street in south Gilroy, Sgt. Jim Gillio said.
At 3:41 a.m., Gilroy police received a call reporting a burglary in progress at Abbott’s. An officer patrolling in the area responded just in time to see a gray van pull onto Luchessa from the shop’s parking lot, Gillio said. The officer attempted to stop the driver and gave chase when the van sped up and headed north on Monterey, running red lights to get away. The driver hopped over to U.S. 101 and headed back south a bit before all three men jumped out of the van while it was still moving and took off on foot, Gillio said. The van crashed into the center divider and Gilroy police, who received backup from the California Highway Patrol and the Sheriff’s Department, chased the men on foot, he said.
The three men are from Southern California and Gillio said he had “no idea” why they chose Abbott’s.
“It’s pretty amazing they were able to catch the guys,” said David Abbott Jr. Monday afternoon. In the 30 years his family has been running the store, they’ve only been burglarized three times, he said.
Monday afternoon, a piece of cardboard temporarily patched the broken window at the front of the store where the suspects entered – barely noticeable to the steady stream of customers who made their way right past it. A vendor in the surrounding warehouse complex heard the glass break and called police, Abbott said.
“The Gilroy police have been good to us,” he said.
A little bleary eyed from waking up at 3:30 a.m., Abbott said the police had the tools processed and returned to the store by 8:30 a.m. Although some of the generators and tools were damaged during the incident, Abbott was grateful to have his property back.
“This is a pretty big deal for us,” Gillio said. “With our limited amount of officers, this was an excellent case. The officers involved were dealt a high stress situation and were able to arrest these three guys for a serious felony.”
