There are, in fact, two Robert Heredias.
There are, in fact, two Robert Heredias.
One, age 44, is being held in county jail on two counts of burglary. The other, Robert Castro (aka Roberto) Heredia, 42, has been accused of charging his $933 phone bill to an ex-employer in Morgan Hill, which had recently fired him.
Until recently, both crimes had been attributed to the Heredia in jail.
Both men are from Gilroy, but Roberto C. Heredia lives in a house on Las Animas Avenue. The other was homeless at the time of his arrest on Nov. 2, near the scene of two burglaries.
Deputy District Attorney Mark Hood has lifted a grand theft charge for the alleged phone-bill scam from the Robert Heredia in jail for burglary charges in Gilroy. Hood has yet to bring this charge against Robert C. Heredia.
It was a Morgan Hill police officer who first mistakenly linked the two men, according to Morgan Hill police Detective Rodney Reno, who acknowledged the error and explained how it happened. After questioning Robert C. Heredia about the alleged phone-bill scam, the officer, who was not named, did a criminal background check and came up with the other Robert Heredia’s rap sheet, which mentions a conviction for attempted burglary in Monterey County and more than a year in Santa Clara County Jail for multiple drunk-driving convictions.
The officer mistakenly attributed these crimes to Robert C. Heredia, and she also took Robert Heredia’s June 5, 1959 birth date, listed on the rap sheet, and entered it on the paperwork she filed for an arrest warrant.She had not gotten all the necessary personal information from Robert C. Heredia when interviewing him, Reno said.
Robert C. Heredia’s birthdate is actually Sept. 10, 1961, Reno said.
A judge issued the warrant for grand theft on Nov. 20, and because the name and birth date matched those of the Robert Heredia who had been in jail for 18 days already, the charge was attributed to him.
“It was an oversight on the officer’s part,” Reno said.
A Dec. 10 newspaper report mimicked the error. The reporting was based on court records, interviews with Hood and attending court dates for the Robert Heredia in custody.
After seeing the newspaper story, several members of Robert C. Heredia’s family called The Dispatch on Dec. 12, asking for a correction. They said they didn’t want Robert C. Heredia’s name wrongly linked with burglary. The Dispatch referred them to Hood, and at his request, Morgan Hill police re-investigated the matter.
“I am not aware of this type of error happening before down here,” Hood said. “The unusual error was caught and corrected within 10 days of filing. The judicial system worked quickly and efficiently to correct the error.”
