Residents of a northeast Morgan Hill neighborhood were asked to shelter in place for several hours Thursday morning as police searched for armed suspects who had earlier tried to burglarize a vehicle in the downtown area, authorities said.
One of the suspects was arrested after an extensive search of residential yards and properties that was aided by officers and resources from numerous agencies in the region, Morgan Hill Police said in a press release.
About 5:50am Dec. 5, Morgan Hill Police responded to a report of an auto burglary in progress near Depot Street and Third Street, MHPD posted on social media. A victim confronted the suspects, who brandished handguns. The suspects then fled the scene in two separate vehicles.
Four minutes after the initial call, an MHPD officer located both vehicles on the road and attempted to make a traffic stop, but the drivers refused to stop and led police on a high-speed chase, authorities said.
Officers then deployed “stop sticks” on the roadway in front of the suspicious vehicles’ path, before they reached U.S. Highway 101, in an effort to stop the criminals, police said. The stop sticks punctured both vehicles’ tires, but the cars continued onto northbound U.S. 101.
MHPD terminated the pursuit at that point due to the high volume of commuter traffic and unsafe conditions, the press release said.
Several minutes later, police found one of the suspects’ vehicle unoccupied on Cochrane Road near Malaguerra Avenue; and the other was found in the nearby Mission Ranch neighborhood, also unoccupied.
Over the next several hours, MHPD and other agencies conducted an extensive search of the residential area, ordering residents and homeowners to shelter in place, police said. Participating in the search were the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol, Gilroy Police Department, California Fish and Game and Santa Clara County Parks. Searching officers used police K9s, drones and the CHP helicopter in their efforts to find the suspects.
During this search, one of the suspects was found and arrested without further incident, police said. The suspect was in possession of a “ghost gun,” and was booked at the county jail on suspicion of felony violations including robbery, burglary and possession of a firearm.
Police have not released the suspect’s name, and have not said if they have identified or arrested any other suspects involved in the incident. It is unclear how many suspects were involved.
MHPD is asking residents and property owners in the area of the Mission Ranch and Coyote Estates neighborhoods to check their home camera systems and provide any relevant footage to Det. Corporal Sean Farrell by email at Se**********@mo********.gov.
Home burglary suspect nabbed
In an unrelated incident, as officers were returning to the MHPD station on Vineyard Boulevard from the Cochrane Road area search, a residential burglary was reported on the 200 block of East Edmundson Avenue, police said.
Just after police arrived at that scene, the suspect exited the residence and immediately began running from officers and jumping over fences, police said. Officers caught up to the suspect and arrested the alleged burglar without incident.
