An armed suspect traveling in a stolen vehicle committed a series of vandalism and burglary incidents in downtown Morgan Hill early Thursday morning, police said.
Authorities are still looking for the suspect after officers attempted to make a traffic stop on the suspicious vehicle shortly after the crimes were reported, Morgan Hill Police said in a press release.
About 2:20am Dec. 7, officers responded to the area of Depot Street to investigate a report of a vehicle that was driving at a high rate of speed with its alarm sounding.
Police located the vehicle as it was traveling on Depot Street. Officers conducted an enforcement stop, but the driver did not yield, says the press release. A short pursuit followed, but officers terminated the chase due to reckless driving by the suspicious vehicle’s driver.
During the investigation, police acquired video surveillance footage that showed a suspect standing outside the suspicious vehicle, says the release. The suspect was seen in the video footage holding a handgun that contained a high-capacity magazine.
Police also determined that the suspicious vehicle had been stolen, though its owner had not yet reported it missing, authorities said.
Just prior to officers’ efforts to stop the vehicle, the unknown suspect had committed at least seven vandalism incidents and vehicle burglaries on Depot Street, East Third Street and East Fourth Street, police said.
MHPD said one reason it is advising the public of the incident is to “strongly discourage our community members from intervening during the commission of any crime” or suspicious event, the press release says. Anyone who witnesses a crime should call 911 instead of intervening, police said.
“We would also like to remind everyone to remove all valuables from their vehicle and remain highly vigilant while parking in well-lit areas,” says the press release.
The investigation into the Dec. 7 crimes in downtown Morgan Hill is ongoing, police said. Anyone with information can call MHPD Det. Scott Purvis at 669.253.4912 or email [email protected].
Information can be provided anonymously online at tinyurl.com/5dmamwp3 or by calling 1.800.222.TIPS.
