Seven domestic violence episodes send five men to jail
Morgan Hill – A surge in domestic violence activity over the weekend kept Morgan Hill police officers busy and raised questions about the unexpected spike.
According to Morgan Hill police Sgt. David Swing, there were seven criminal and non-criminal domestic violence incidents between Friday morning and Monday morning.
“That’s higher than most weekends, and it goes against popular opinion, which is that these incidents increase during very hot weather and long weekends, holiday weekends,” Swing said. On Friday morning at 9:56am, Swing was eastbound on Monterey Road near John Wilson Way when he spotted a car on the side of the road. He originally thought the car was broken down, he said, but when he stopped he saw a male and female involved in a heated argument. No one was injured, he said, and no arrests were made but the non-criminal incident was the beginning of a weekend of domestic troubles.
It was the first non-criminal incident during the weekend, Swing said. Officers are required to document these incidents even if there are no arrests.
Later on Friday, at approximately 6:15pm, officers responded to a residence after receiving a call that a 43-year-old Morgan Hill man allegedly threatened to shoot his wife. There were three children in the house at the time, Swing said.
The threats apparently came after an argument that began the day before. The wife told police she left the residence and didn’t return home until the next day. No gun was located in the home, although officers did find a replica gun. The man was booked into Santa Clara County Jail on charges of allegedly making criminal threats and on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance.
Early Saturday morning, at approximately 4:58am, officers responded to a call on the 911 wireless system reporting domestic violence at a residence on Markross Court. Swing said this was a non-criminal incident with no injuries and no arrests, and a report was taken.
A 49-year-old man was arrested and booked into Santa Clara County Jail Saturday night on charges of allegedly destroying a phone and violation of a domestic restraining order. According to Swing, officers responded to the Wright Garden Apartments at approximately 10:50pm. The alleged victim told officers her husband pulled the phone out of the wall when she attempted to call police; the husband, who was allegedly intoxicated, told officers she threw the phone at him.
Several hours later, at approximately 3:50am Sunday, a 46-year-old man was arrested and later booked into Santa Clara County Jail after Morgan Hill police officer Bill Norman found him hiding in the bushes in a neighbor’s yard. Swing said the man allegedly argued with his wife and then punched her in the face, but fled when she called police on her cell phone. Norman heard the man in the bushes, Swing said, and the neighbor came out of his house to thank Norman for locating the man.
The domestic violence continued Sunday evening, as officers were called at approximately 7:45pm to a residence after a 66-year-old man allegedly threatened his girlfriend with scissors and put a cigarette out on her foot. Swing said the man, who had been drinking, argued with his girlfriend about getting more beer, then allegedly grabbed her by the throat and threatened to stab her in the throat with scissors. He was booked into Santa Clara County Jail.
Early Monday morning, officers were responding to a call of a stolen vehicle and a hit-and-run accident, when at 1:50am, a call came in from Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose about a domestic violence incident. The hospital representative said a female came in for treatment and said her boyfriend had allegedly grabbed her ponytail and threw her to the ground.
The female, however, was “less than cooperative,” Swing said.
