Police find Jorge Santos Torres hiding in a Morgan Hill home
after evading authorities for two years
A murder suspect was arrested in Morgan Hill Friday morning after nine hours of searching by the Morgan Hill Police SWAT team, a Gilroy Police K-9 and Sheriff’s Office deputies.
The suspect, identified as Jorge Santos Torres, 23, of San Jose, was dragged from a constricted crawl space under the residence of a family member at 15720 Via Castana off of La Crosse Avenue in south Morgan Hill at 11:50am Friday.
“They (SWAT Officers Shane Palsgrove and Rick Rodriguez) had to belly crawl to reach him,” MHPD Cmdr. Joe Sampson said Friday afternoon. “They would have had no opportunity if they found a person with a weapon, no opportunity to defend themselves. It was a brave decision they made. As they crawled underneath the garage, they pulled aside a plumbing pipe or vent or something, pulled it back and saw him. The space was so tight, he could barely move also. The officers grabbed his hands, and they all three had to slither out backwards.”
Torres was not armed when they pulled him out, Sampson said. He was taken into custody without incident. San Jose Police came to Morgan Hill to interview Torres and later took him into their custody.
Officers had searched the crawl space earlier in the morning, but the area was so cramped and extended so far back under the house, it was difficult for officers to explore the whole area. A fiber-optic camera on a pole was used to see further into the crawl space, and officers saw a sleeping bag and pillow there. They also saw a very narrow area, far back under the garage, halfway blocked by some kind of pipe. Rodriguez and Palsgrove then decided to go back in and try to reach the area.
The incident began late Thursday night, when MHPD Officer Kyle Christensen stopped a Dodge Intrepid for a red light violation, Sampson said. While talking with the driver and the two male passengers, Torres gave Christensen false identification. As the questioning continued, Torres fled from the vehicle on foot through Paradise Park.
Christensen gave chase, but lost Torres. As the investigation continued, officers found Torres’ true identity and the fact that he was wanted for a murder that occurred in San Jose on May 5, 2003. Sampson said the murder may have been gang-related.
Torres also has an outstanding FBI warrant for allegedly fleeing to Mexico after the murder, Sampson said.
As the MHPD SWAT team was dispatched to the area, neighbors were evacuated, and a thorough search of the residence on Via Castana was conducted.
Sampson said as the time neared 7am on Friday, officers searched the nearby Paradise Valley Elementary School Campus. School Resource Officer David Ray stationed himself at the school, along with Officer Ken Howard. When Paradise Valley Principal Donna Loose, who is new to the Morgan Hill School District and to Paradise Valley this year, arrived on campus, she found the officers waiting.
“I arrived at my usual time, around 7am, and found the officers there,” Loose said. “They told me what was going on, told me it would be necessary to take extra precautions.”
The school was locked down from the time the students arrived until approximately an hour after the morning bell rang.
“Things went very smoothly, in terms of our preparedness for this type of event,” Loose said. “I just thought to myself that it’s a validation that the professionals on this site knew how to act in the best interest of students. We got all the students inside, quickly, without a fuss, and we locked the doors. With the help of the community, the parents, the teachers, the front office staff, we were able to reduce the anxiety.”
As she drove to the school, Paradise Valley parent Erin Machado, who is president of the Paradise Valley Home and School Association, said she was alarmed by the police presence.
“Of course you were nervous, with all of the police cars,” she said. “They were lining the streets, at least from my house to the school, and blocking off streets. Not knowing what was going on, I was concerned.”
Sampson said there were 19 MHPD officers on the scene, “almost the entire staff,” except for the detective squad and a few officers on vacation.
Paradise Valley parents were not the only ones wondering what was going on. Although the SWAT team evacuated several families from their homes, nearby the residence being searched.
“A couple of families refused to go,” said Sgt. Dave Myers, “so we told them to stay away from windows and doors. Others went willingly to family members or over to the school.”
The evacuations took place around 4:30am, and the families were woken up by a SWAT team member in full gear.
“It was a bit surprising,” said Curt Casey, who lives next door to the residence being searched. “I came downstairs, and there was this SWAT guy in full gear.”
Casey said he and his wife, Paula, went willingly and were glad to be warned. The SWAT team asked their permission to use their house as a base for negotiators, and they agreed.
The Caseys, who went to Starbucks for a while until they could go somewhere for breakfast, described their neighbors as “good people.” Curt said he recognized the picture of Torres, had seen him “around the house next door.”
“They are good people next door, good neighbors,” Paula said. “They have a lot of family around, have family parties.”
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@*************es.com.
