One suspect is in custody and police are searching for a second after they say two men robbed a Morgan Hill video game store while holding customers, including a young child, hostage at gunpoint.
The incident is the second armed robbery in Morgan Hill in less than a week, as police reported a similar crime at a local convenience store Sept. 2.
About 10:50 a.m. Sept. 5, the two adults entered GameStop, located at 1057 Cochrane Road, with at least one firearm, according to Morgan Hill police. One of the suspects brandished the handgun and took two store employees and four customers hostage.
The suspects robbed the hostages of their personal belongings and held them captive in a storage closet while they looted the store, police said. The robbers fled the scene in a vehicle that later seen by a Morgan Hill officer driving to the area of an apartment complex at 260 Berry Court.
The suspect who was driving the vehicle attempted to evade police, then ran into the apartment building, according to police.
The police department deployed the Morgan Hill/Gilroy Regional SWAT team to search for the suspect, who police believed to still be armed. After a 13-hour evacuation and search of the property, police requested the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team to continue the search.
The county’s SERT team found the suspect in one of the apartments about 10:30 a.m. Sept. 6, bringing the standoff to a peaceful resolution, police added.
The second suspect is still on the run, authorities said. Police have not released the name of the suspect in custody because they do not want to risk compromising the ongoing the investigation.
Also assisting in the investigation and arrest were the Gilroy Police Department, MHPD Volunteers and Community Emergency Response Team.
The Sept. 5 incident at GameStop was the second recent armed robbery in Morgan Hill. About 12:41 a.m. Sept. 2, a black male adult entered the 7-Eleven store, 295 W. Main Ave., and brandished a small handgun toward the store clerk, according to police.
The suspect told the victim to open the cash register, police said. The victim initially refused, and then the suspect punched him in the face and forced him to open the register.
The suspect then removed the cash from the register and was last seen running toward Crest Avenue, according to police.
The armed robber is still on the run, and police are asking the public for help finding him. The suspect is further described as about 6 feet tall, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, a red billed hat and black pants.
The victim was transported to Saint Louise Regional Hospital in Gilroy where he was treated for his injuries and later released.
The Campbell Police Department reported a similar incident that occurred Aug. 31 about 11:37 p.m.
During the Campbell case, two black men entered the Food Mart located at 100 W. Hamilton Avenue and demanded money from the clerk, according to police.
The physical and clothing description of one of the suspects and the method of the crime were a near identical match to the Morgan Hill robbery, according to police.
The San Jose Police Department also reported two robberies in which the suspects’ actions and description also resembled the Morgan Hill robbery; however, a direct link has not yet been made.
Police did not say if they think the 7-Eleven robbery is related to the GameStop incident.
Anyone with information about these crimes can call Morgan Hill police at (408) 779-2101 or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-7867.
