One man dies, Britton Middle School’s fire causes more than
$500,000 in damages
Morgan Hill – Several incidents kept Morgan Hill police officers busy the weekend of the Mushroom Mardi Gras festival.
Police responded Friday night to several calls about a man hit by a vehicle. The accident occurred at approximately 10:20pm on Monterey Road, according to Morgan Hill police Sgt. Rick Rodriguez.
Although several of the callers reported the man was drunk when the accident happened, Rodriguez said he could not confirm that.
Pedro Chacon, 40, was transported to Regional Medical Center, Rodriguez said. The female driver was not charged, he added.
Saturday night, after the festival ended at 6pm, calls for service began to increase Rodriguez said. There were numerous reports of fights, some with weapons involved, but when officers arrived on the scene, the parties had disbursed, he added.
Sunday morning, officers responded to a report of a fire at Britton Middle School on Central Avenue. The call came in at 9:30am from a parent who was at the school for a Pony Baseball game and saw the smoke.
A portable building north of the school was on fire, Rodriguez said, and Santa Clara County Fire Department engines responded to the fire. The blaze apparently started on the outside of the building and spread to the inside, causing approximately $500,000 in damage to the building.
An investigation is underway, but the fire is labeled as suspicious. SCCFD Arson Investigator Dennis Johnsen is handling the investigation but was not on duty Monday.
The fire was contained in approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
Sunday afternoon, Morgan Hill police officers responded to a report that a man was having a heart attack at the Shop and Go gas station at the corner of Condit Road and East Dunne Avenue. A male in his 50s was pronounced dead at the scene, and the Coroner’s Office reported the death as natural causes, Rodriguez said.
The gas station restricted traffic at the scene for approximately one hour while a police officer waited with the deceased for clearance from the Coroner’s Office.
Also on Sunday, MHPD officers recovered a stolen vehicle from Gilroy. The driver, Juan Barajas, 24, of Gilroy was arrested for allegedly stealing the vehicle. Ismael Nuñez, 23, of Gilroy was a passenger in the vehicle and was arrested on unrelated charges, Rodriguez said. Both were booked into Santa Clara County Jail.
Though crowds were large during the weekend’s Mushroom Mardi Gras, Morgan Hill police officers had crowd control and security well in hand.
There were only two arrests, a parole violation and a female shoplifter.
“It was a really successful event,” Morgan Hill police Cmdr. Joe Sampson said Monday. “There were no major incidents; it was a well-organized event. We didn’t have to call for help from the Sheriff’s Office.”
The department’s regular shift of officers on patrol duty was augmented by several extra officers focused on the Mushroom Mardi Gras itself, plus officers from Alcohol Beverage Control and the state Parole Department. Groups of police Explorers – a program for teenagers hosted by the department – patrolled the streets in uniform with their radios, acting as “extra eyes and ears” during the festival, Sampson said.
“We’re very pleased with the way the police department handled the event,” said Sunday Minnich, event coordinator. “That’s an expense we have to incur, obviously, for public safety.”
Festival Committee chairman Dan Sullivan said the committee, Minnich and city agencies, including the police department and the Department of Public Works met months prior to the event to discuss how to handle the police presence during the weekend. The committee uses a private security firm, Atlas security, to provide additional protection for the weekend.
Sullivan said 12 security guards patrol the festival during the day, and six work overnight.
“We had no thefts at night,” Minnich said. “There were some vendors that didn’t even cover their merchandise, just left it out at the booth, and it was fine, because we had the security presence as well as police officers checking the area.”
There was one arrest for shoplifting on Sunday, Sampson said. A festival-goer told police a woman appeared to be taking items from each booth as she walked through the downtown area. When officers stopped her, they allegedly found a variety of things apparently from different booths. She also had a warrant for theft from San Jose, Sampson said.
Donna Terry, 47, was taken into custody without incident. Morgan Hill police Sgt. Rick Rodriguez said Terry posted bail on the warrant, and petty theft charges are pending.
There were sightings of some outlaw motorcycle gangs and street gang members during the festival, according to police.
“There were some individuals flying some colors, but no incidents,” Sampson said, referring to the gang practice of wearing certain clothing to show their allegiance and challenge other gangs. “But as I was walking in the crowd, in plain-clothes, I did hear some gang-related individuals talking about how many cops there were at the event. A show of force makes them think twice about doing anything wrong.”
While at the festival, Sampson said, agents from the state Parole Department “were able to make contact with several of their clients.” In one instance, he said, there was a fight at the Simple Beverages store, and one man was arrested on a parole violation.
Overall, from the police perspective, the festival was a success, Sampson said.
“Sunday was a lot more crowded than Saturday,” he said. “Probably one-third more than Saturday. Compared to last year, the crowd was more family-oriented. We had three times the amount of law enforcement. This is our second year going through it (having the festival downtown), and we had our bases covered.”
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@mo*************.com.
