GILROY—An attempted residential burglary Aug. 6 ignited a citywide search for three suspects who split up and fled on foot and in a stolen car—all who were were ultimately arrested, police said.
Detectives are working to connect the dots to see if the three men, all from Salinas, arrested by Thursday evening may have committed other residential burglaries in the city, Gilroy Police Department Acting Capt. Joseph Deras told the Dispatch.
Robert Earland, 19, Alexander Boyd, 20, and a 17-year-old young man whose name police are withholding were arrested and booked on various charges, from burglary to stealing a vehicle and evading authorities, according to a Monday statement from the GPD on the incident.
The pursuit began in the area of Mantelli Drive and Welburn Avenue, after residents flagged down an officer on patrol describing suspicious people in the area around 4 p.m. While talking to neighbors, the officer saw multiple males “jumping fences and taking off running,” Deras said, leading the officer to pursue on foot.
Two of the men were wearing latex gloves at the time, which police said suggests they “may have been” preparing to commit a burglary and didn’t want to leave fingerprints, added GPD Sgt. Royce Heath.
Authorities received a call shortly after the chase began from a concerned neighbor who heard the smash of a nearby home’s back window. Heading in the direction of the call, the pursuing officer watched as one of the suspects took off in a getaway car and two others split up on foot.
One of the suspects who ran away from police was discovered hiding in a closet of a home near Luigi Aprea Elementary School, Deras said, and he was taken into custody after a tip from neighbors. Another was found in another resident’s backyard and also arrested.
The suspect who tried to evade authorities in the vehicle—which turned out to be stolen—bailed out and ran up into the foothills.
Police had nearly given up the search when an off-duty police officer called dispatchers, concerned about a man who tried to flag him and other motorists down for a ride in the area on Santa Teresa Boulevard and Day Road.
Detectives in plain clothes arrived on scene and chased the man back into the foothills, where he allegedly armed himself with a piece of lumber, but ultimately gave up from exhaustion when he “finally couldn’t run anymore,” Deras said.
“I’d say it was 80 percent good police work and 20 percent fate or good luck that one of the suspects tried to flag down the off-duty officer,” he added. “We had officers on patrol doing what they’re supposed to be doing in the neighborhoods—and that, preventative police work—is exactly what we want to do.”
Throughout the hunt for the suspects, which involved assistance from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol and Morgan Hill Police Department, police said multiple residents called authorities with “helpful” updates on the suspects’ various locations.
“Social media played a big part in the capture of the suspects,” Heath said. “As citizens became aware of what was taking place, they became active in sharing information, watching and providing GPD police communications with information that ultimately assisted us in locating and arresting all three of the suspects.”
Earland was booked on charges of burglary and resisting arrest, while Boyd was booked for stealing a car and attempting to evade arrest by fleeing in the vehicle. The juvenile, 17, was booked into the Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall for burglary and resisting arrest, according to police.
Gilroy police released the following statement Monday afternoon, shown below in its entirety:
On 08/06/2015 at about 1600 hours a Gilroy Police Officer was on patrol in the 1600 block of Welburn Avenue in the City of Gilroy when he saw two males looking over a fence into a side yard of a house. When the officer attempted to contact the two males they fled on foot. The officer noticed that both males were wearing latex gloves, suggesting they may have been preparing to commit a residential burglary or other crime and did not want to leave fingerprints.
The officer began to chase the males in his patrol vehicle, but lost them behind the Pacific West School on Calle Del Rey. At that time, the officer saw a vehicle exit the parking lot of the school, where he last saw the two males running. The vehicle was driven by a subject, later identified as Alexander Boyd. The officer initiated an enforcement stop, but Boyd failed to stop and a vehicle pursuit ensued. Boyd fled at a high rate of speed onto Columbine Court, where he exited the vehicle and fled on foot up a hillside. The vehicle was found to have been reported stolen out of Salinas. Officers responded and established a perimeter of the area Boyd was last seen.
As the officer was chasing Boyd in the stolen vehicle, GPD Communications received a report of a residential Burglary that just occurred in the area of Welburn/Mantelli (The same area the officer first spotted the two males looking over the fence). Reporting parties stated two suspects in the burglary were last seen running north on Calle Del Rey. A GPD officer responding to assist the first officer arrived in the area of the burglary and located two males matching the descriptions provided by callers and attempted to detain them. Both fled on foot and began jumping fences. A second perimeter was established in the area of Briarberry/Longmeadow. A short time later, a plain-clothes GPD detective in an unmarked vehicle spotted one of the males in the area and chased him towards Del Oro Street, losing him after the suspect jumped the fence into a yard. A third perimeter was established at that location. Additional resources were requested from Santa Clara S.O., CHP and MHPD, including three K-9 officers.
With limited resources, three simultaneous searches began, with the following results; A juvenile male was located and arrested hiding in a yard on Mockingbird Drive. Robert Earland was found hiding inside a home on Del Oro, which he had broken into. Both were taken transported to the GPD jail facility for processing.
Back at the location of the stolen vehicle, a K-9 search was conducted in the heavily wooded area of the foothills near Tea Tree Ct. The dog tracked a scent to the area of Day Road. A short time later, a citizen reported a possible suspect in the area of Rancho Hills at the North dead end. GPD detectives located Alexander Boyd (driver of the stolen vehicle), and chased him on foot from Rancho Hills, back into the foothills where he was eventually taken into custody and placed under arrest.
Social media played a big part in the capture of the suspects. As citizens became aware of what was taking place, they became active in sharing information, watching, and providing GPD police communications with information that ultimately assisted us in locating and arresting all three of the suspects.
The two adults were booked into the Santa Clara County Jail. Earland was booked for burglary and resisting arrest. Boyd was booked for the stolen vehicle and attempting to evade arrest by fleeing in the vehicle. The juvenile was booked into the Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall for burglary and resisting arrest.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact the Gilroy Police Department at (408) 846-0350.
