Fire Reveals Marijuana Growing Operation
Gilroy – A two-alarm blaze turned into a pot bust when firefighters found 168 plants growing in a house on the same block as Rod Kelley Elementary School Wednesday morning.
The Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team carted away three- to four-foot tall potted marijuana plants that could have yielded more than $1.6 million in sales from a house at 8890 Morey Way, on the corner of Mantelli Drive. Firefighters found the pot when they responded to an 8:49am report of a fire, Gilroy Fire Department Battalion Chief Phil King said.
Three bedrooms’ floors were lined with plastic sheeting and the walls lined with foil-like Mylar, which keeps in heat. In addition, 16 lamps hung from wires attached and fans fed an “elaborate” ventilation system. Firefighters suspect the fire started when a lamp fell.
The fire was under control within 20 minutes; however, Mantelli Drive between Kern Avenue and Bosco Lane was closed for about four hours while law enforcement officials removed plants, King said.
Driver Follows Child, Police Seek Suspect
Gilroy – A man driving a white pickup followed a 10-year-old girl near Glen View Elementary School, area residents said.
A Hispanic male between the ages of 40 and 50 drove a vehicle slowly behind a child walking on the sidewalk near the intersection of West Eighth and Princevalle streets “earlier in the day” Sunday, police said. An adult neighbor, seeing the situation, went out to the street and scared the driver off, police said.
“The witness made eye contact with driver of the truck,” Sgt. Jim Gillio said. “This made the driver of the truck uncomfortable and he fled the area.”
The witness said the man had black hair, a dark moustache and a heavy build. However, the man drove off before witnesses could get a detailed description or the license plate number of the truck, police said.
“One witness said that she might have seen the male in the area before but it had nothing to do with following a child,” Gillio said.
The incident is the third incident of drivers following children in less than two months. On Aug. 30, an older Hispanic man driving a white van followed and approached a 17-year-old female before she ran into her house and called police, according to a police report. On Sept. 14, a younger Hispanic man approached a 17-year-old male near Gilroy High School and offered him a ride, police said. The driver left the scene when a law enforcement vehicle drove by. In both cases, the van was described as having marred paint.
Anyone with information related to this incident can call Gilroy police at 846-0350 or leave an anonymous tip at 846-0330.
Man Arrested for Lewd Acts on Uvas Creek Levee
Gilroy – A 33-year-old man carrying methamphetamine was tased after masturbating in public, tailing two adult women and trying to grab a police officer’s gun on the levee near Gilroy High School, police said.
Keith Richard Rossi of the 200 block of Churchill Place was sitting on a levee bench east of where it crosses Miller Avenue when two women walked past him Friday at about 10am, police said. They noticed his hands moving in his lap and then saw him get up and follow them. The two women called police, who dispatched an officer to the scene.
When the officer showed up, Rossi “immediately became confrontational and combative with the officer” and “assumed a fighting stance,” police public information officer Sgt. Jim Gillio said.
When the officer went to check Rossi for weapons, the 5-foot 6-inch, 150-pound male grabbed the officer’s gun and tried to pull it out of the holster.
A lock mechanism prevented Rossi from getting the gun and the officer then broke Rossi’s grip on the gun.
The officers – four had shown up by the end of the incident – subdued Rossi with a TASER – which delivers up to 50,000 volts of electricity.
He was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer and trying to take a police officer’s firearm, a felony, and a misdemeanor charge of possession of a controlled substance. Rossi was also charged with lewd acts in public.
Extortion Case Delayed
Gilroy – A judge deferred the case of two Gilroyans accused of extorting a motorcycle and motorcycle parts totaling $150,000 from Indian-Victory Motorcycles and reselling them on eBay.
Vanessa Bullock, 43, and James Collier, 48, waived their rights to speedy trial and a preliminary hearing within 10 days at the South County Courthouse in San Martin Tuesday afternoon. The hearing was postponed to Nov. 2 because the courtroom and judge were tied up with another trial.
The Gilroyans were arrested and charged in July with buying, receiving, concealing or withholding motorcycle parts and buying or receiving a stolen Indian Sprint motorcycle. Bullock, who shared a home on the 7400 block of Dowdy Street with Collier, was also charged with extorting $23,000 from an Indian-Victory employee and threatening him at least three times between March and July with a handgun and retribution by her fellow gang members.
