CHP
A Gilroy man was killed when he was hit by an oncoming car as he tried to cross the northbound lanes of U.S. 101 Friday evening, according to Terry Mayes, California Highway Patrol public information officer.
Leonardo Maza-Peredo was killed when he began running from the center divider of the highway just south of Leavesley at 9:30 p.m. Friday. As he reached the center northbound lane, he was hit by a 2001 Mazda traveling at 65 mph.
Driver Fred Rosete, 64, of Hollister, told officers he didn’t see the man until he was right in front of the car. The passenger in Mazda, Evangeleine Bustamonte, 51, of San Francisco, said she never saw anything, Mayes said. Both Rosete and Bustamonte were uninjured in the accident. Mayes said there was no obvious reason why Maza-Peredo was crossing the freeway.
“It appears he was just running across the freeway,” she said. “He misjudged the flow of traffic. He came to a rest in the center divider and was pronounced dead on the scene.”
MORGAN HILL POLICE
Arrests and citations: Police on Thursday arrested Daniel Nick Pelcic, 30, of San Jose, on allegations of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14 years old and false imprisonment.
The victim, a 4-year-old girl, told her mother she was assaulted in December while her family attended a Christmas party in a Morgan Hill home. She was upstairs watching a movie while the adults were downstairs. Pelcic, who worked for a San Jose law firm, was attending the party and went upstairs and began watching the movie with the victim.
Pelcic allegedly locked the door to the room after another child that was also watching the movie left the room. Pelcic then allegedly touched the victim inappropriately and returned to the party as if nothing had happened, investigators said.
Pelcic was arrested at the law firm and booked into the Santa Clara County Jail.
• A Gilroy man believed to be responsible for a string of recent auto thefts was arrested late Sunday night by Morgan Hill Police. Mario Vincent Fausto, 23, was charged with auto theft and residential burglary.
Police received a “be on the lookout” broadcast for a stolen vehicle from Gilroy Police Sunday evening. While Officer Shane Palsgrove was looking for the vehicle he observed the vehicle entering Highway 101 from E. Dunne Avenue.
Palsgrove followed the vehicle and waited for assistance to arrive. Officers from Morgan Hill Police and the California Highway Patrol caught up to the stolen vehicle at Highway 101 and Blossom Hill Road in San Jose where Fausto was taken into custody without incident.
The stolen vehicles were taken from the owner’s garages or from their driveways as they were warming up in the Gilroy and Morgan Hill areas. Morgan Hill Police remind residents to never leave their vehicles unattended and to not leave keys inside the vehicle even if it is in a garage.
• Adolfo Placencia, 47, of Morgan Hill was taken to county jail charged with destroying a phone. The report was taken on Dec. 7 at 9:04 p.m.
• Javier Martinez, 21, of Morgan Hill was taken to county jail charged with evading police, burglary and arson. The report was taken at 3:30 a.m. on Dec. 8.
• Orbelin Heleria, 21, of Morgan Hill was cited and released charged with vandalism and suspicion of being drunk on a bicycle. The report was taken on Dec. 8 at 4:18 p.m.
• Maximilliano Heverria, 19, of Gilroy was cited and released charged with reckless driving, driving without a license and crossing over the center divide. The report was taken at 9:51 a.m. on Dec. 11.
Threats: A parent reported her child was repeatedly threatened by another child at El Toro Elementary. The report was taken on Dec. 9 at 9:29 a.m.
• A resident reported someone holding a 10-month-old baby and the baby’s mother in a Morgan Hill residence against their will. The report was taken at 12:05 p.m. on Dec. 9.
