Morgan Hill Police help San Jose officers catch suspects in home
invasion robbery
A dramatic downtown arrest took many Morgan Hill residents by surprise Tuesday afternoon as five men believed to be involved in a home invasion robbery in San Jose were taken into custody at gunpoint.
Police apprehended Milao Arellano, 26, of Morgan Hill; Eric Hackleman, 28, of Morgan Hill; Gilberto Avila, 23, Gilroy; David Ontiveros, 28, of Gilroy; and Joel Kaho, 28, of Gilroy on Tuesday, but only Arellano and Hackleman were arrested.
Arellano and Hackleman allegedly broke into a residence in San Jose Tuesday morning, tied up the two residents and held them at gunpoint while stealing guns, swords, electronic equipment and marijuana, said SJPD Sgt. David Honda.
“The home invasion occurred at approximately 11:30am, two suspects armed with handguns,” he said. “Shortly after one of the victims was able to get free, they called 911. Our detectives followed some leads and learned one of the suspects lived in Morgan Hill.”
After a call to alert MHPD, Honda said, several detectives came down to investigate. They set up a surveillance at the house at 17130 Monterey Road, where Arellano lives.
Arellano was arrested after leaving the home, Honda said.
Soon after, the vehicle drove to the residence and picked up Hackleman, who police believed was carrying some of the stolen goods. San Jose police, with MHPD officers, pulled the vehicle over in the parking lot behind downtown businesses between Third and Second streets.
With weapons drawn, officers surrounded the vehicle and ordered them to crawl out on their hands and knees. All three were taken to the Morgan Hill Police Department for questioning. Only Hackleman was arrested.
“After interviewing the two who showed up to pick up the suspect, we realized they didn’t know about the home invasion and didn’t have anything to do with it,” Honda said. “They were released.”
Police also apprehended another suspect at the home on Monterey Street, according to MHPD Cmdr. Joe Sampson.
Arellano and Hackleman were arrested and taken to Santa Clara County Jail, charged with armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment and other weapons charges, Honda said. They are being held on $150,000 bail.
Sampson said likely the SJPD, who is in charge of the case because the crime was committed in San Jose, “froze” the Arellano residence to apply for a search warrant.
“There were items in sight, but likely they would apply for a warrant so they could look in drawers, in closets,” he said.
Some Morgan Hill residents in the area at the time of the arrests were startled by the sudden show of force.
Jeremy Krasnov, who recently moved to Morgan Hill, had just stepped out of the Caffee Kaffee Vin on Second Street when he saw four police cars lining the street and more at the parking lot behind the General Store.
“I saw the police officers pull the car over and pull out their pistols,” said Krasnov. “They got two people out of the car and then had one on the ground and cuffed him.”
Brad Jones, owner of Caffee Kaffee Vin, watched from the window of his coffee shop. He said he saw four Morgan Hill police cars, approximately two undercover persons and “what looked like a detective” in the parking lot behind the General Store.
“They pulled the car over and handcuffed one and pulled another aside,” he said. “The other person, the driver, literally crawled out on the ground. Every single officer, about 10 to 12 of them there, had their weapons out. By their movements, I could tell they weren’t fooling around.”
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@*************es.com.
