Female residents are urged to be careful when out by themselves
late at night, as police are looking for a man who attacked two
women within a few minutes – one at each Safeway Foods location in
Morgan Hill, and one with a stun gun.
Morgan Hill
Female residents are urged to be careful when out by themselves late at night, as police are looking for a man who attacked two women within a few minutes – one at each Safeway Foods location in Morgan Hill, and one with a stun gun.
The first attack occurred about 11 p.m. Thursday, when Morgan Hill Police received a call of a woman who had been followed to her car, which was parked in front of Safeway Foods at 840 East Dunne Ave., according to Sgt. Jerry Neumayer.
The woman reported exiting the store and as she was walking to her vehicle she noticed a male walking behind her. As she began to walk faster, the male also started to walk faster. The woman was able to get into her car and lock the doors before the man reached her. He attempted to open the locked door, but did not say anything, the woman told police.
The woman started her car and drove home, where she called police.
Less than 30 minutes later, police received a similar call from the Safeway Foods at 235 Tennant Station. In that incident, which occurred about 11:25 p.m., a man was able to get in the back seat of another woman’s car through an unlocked door when she entered the driver’s door. The man hit the woman with his fists about three times and used a “stun gun” to electrically shock her several times on the back of her neck and head. He did not say anything in that incident either, the woman told police.
The suspect ran away when a passing motorist, who heard the woman screaming and noticed the commotion inside the vehicle, pulled up next to it. The man left the car and fled toward the Cinelux movie theater.
Although only the woman targeted in the first incident was able to give a description of the attacker, police believe the same man was involved.
Cmdr. Joe Sampson said the two women do not know each other or the attacker, and both were approached in a similar manner that is unusual for a theft attempt.
“These kinds of attacks are not frequent,” Sampson said. “These are aggressive, violent attacks, involving predatory behavior. The M.O. was basically the same (in both incidents).”
He added that a male suspect entering the back seat of a vehicle to attack a woman “heightens our concern,” because it does not match the circumstances of a common theft.
“We’re concerned that this is maybe a sexual assault attempt,” Sampson said.
Neumayer noted the second incident Thursday night is the first such attack heard of by the Morgan Hill Police Department, in which an unknown suspect followed someone to their vehicle and attacked with a stun gun.
A couple days after the incidents, the woman who was targeted in the first attack gave a description of the suspect to an artist from the San Jose Police Department, who was able to compile a sketch of the man.
The suspect is described as white or Hispanic, in his late 20s or early 30s, about 5-feet, 10-inches to 6-feet tall, weighing about 200 pounds. He was wearing a dark hat, dark pants and a dark shirt, Neumayer said.
“Morgan Hill Police encourages citizens to be aware of their surroundings when walking to their vehicle during evening hours or in dimly lit areas,” Neumayer said. “Call the police department if you believe you are being followed by a suspicious person.”
Anyone with information about these incidents may call Detective Kevin Bielmann of the MHPD at (408) 779-2101.
