A recent stun gun attack following a forceful attempt at local
Safeway Foods stores has local women and the stores’ employees on
high alert.
MORGAN HILL
A recent stun gun attack following a forceful attempt at local Safeway Foods stores has local women and the stores’ employees on high alert.
Police are still looking for the single suspect they believe is responsible for the two incidents which occurred the evening of March 19, one in each parking lot in front the two Morgan Hill store locations.
Sgt. Jerry Neumayer said detectives are still analyzing evidence that was gathered at the scene of the second incident at 235 Tennant Station, in which a woman was attacked by a man who entered the back seat of her vehicle as she got in the driver’s seat. He punched her two or three times and shocked her with a stun gun a couple of times before he was scared away by a passing motorist.
That incident occurred about 11:25 p.m.
Police have described the attacks as “predatory” and unusual, especially for Morgan Hill, and are thus urging people to be extra cautious with the suspect still at large.
Neumayer said police have also handed out sketches of the suspect to the Safeway stores and other large stores in Morgan Hill that are open late, including Target at Cochrane Plaza. Officers have also stepped up their regular patrols in the stores’ parking lots.
While MHPD dispatch has received several calls from people who thought they saw the suspect, “nothing has panned out,” Neumayer said.
Furthermore, local police heard from the Burlingame Police Department that a similar incident happened in that city a couple of weeks ago. “We’re not sure if it’s the same suspect,” Neumayer said.
Safeway Foods at Tennant Station was quiet Wednesday night. Flyers displaying a police artist’s sketch of the suspect, as described by one of the victims, were posted throughout the front of the store. A security guard was watching the parking lot.
One female shopper, who identified herself only as Gene, said she has taken extra precautions, including avoiding shopping alone at night, since she heard about the assault.
“It makes you aware,” she said.
Another female shopper said she had not yet heard about the incidents, which she noted are probably isolated and rare.
“Aside from that, I think Morgan Hill is pretty safe,” said Shae Collinge, a Morgan Hill resident.
Romulo Quijada, the security guard from U.S. Security Associates, a company hired by Safeway, said he has not seen anything suspicious since he started keeping watch last weekend. His shift is from 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. each night.
The first incident March 19 happened about 11 p.m. at the Safeway Foods at 840 East Dunne Ave. The suspect followed a woman to her vehicle as she left the store. Police said she noticed the man following her, and she started walking faster. The would-be attacker also walked faster, and the woman was able to get inside her vehicle and lock the doors just before he reached her, police said. As she drove away the suspect was still attempting to open the door.
Other local women have responded by cautioning other females they know through e-mail. Charlene Upton said she has sent e-mails to the more than 40 women in her address book, who are from Morgan Hill and beyond.
“Although (I typically) shop during the day, you can bet that I will be sure now, to never shop alone at night anymore,” Upton said in an e-mail to the Times. “This is a new economic time in our lives, and I am sure we will see more of this, from desperate people.”
Cmdr. Joe Sampson said the two victims did not know each other, and likely did not know the attacker. “These kinds of attacks are not frequent. These are aggressive, violent attacks,” Sampson said.
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.
Anyone with information about the crimes may contact the MHPD at (408) 779-2101.
