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Morgan Hill
December 17, 2025

Police blotter: Golf cart joyride, counterfeit bills

FraudA customer at Walgreens, 745 E. Dunne Ave., paid for merchandise with $520 worth of counterfeit $20 bills. The crime was reported 4:45 p.m. March 28. Stolen vehicleFour boys stole a golf cart from P. A. Walsh Elementary School, 353 W. Main Ave., and took the vehicle for a joyride through residential streets. The boys were about 16 to 17 years old. Police cited the four suspects on suspicion of theft and released them to their parents. The incident was reported 6:50 p.m. March 28.RobberyTwo men wearing bandanas entered Golden Eagle Gas, 16995 Monterey Road, and forced the cashier to open the register. The suspects stole an undisclosed amount of items and ran away. The robbery was reported 10:29 p.m. March 28.All subjects are innocent until proven guilty. Information is compiled from public records.

UPDATED: Late-night shooting startles neighbors

A late-night shooting over the weekend rattled a quiet neighborhood in southwest Morgan Hill that surrounds an elementary school and is interwoven with creeks lined with public walking and cycling paths.One man was injured as a result of the shooting, which occurred early in the morning April 1 near the intersection of Vineyard Boulevard and La Crosse Drive. The incident stemmed from a road rage dispute that began up the road, and the shooter was a fugitive from another county wanted on a $4.9 million warrant for attempted murder in the City of Soledad, according to police.Just after midnight April 1, two vehicles were reportedly involved in the road rage incident that began on Monterey Road just north of San Martin Avenue, according to Morgan Hill Police.As the vehicles continued north on Monterey Road, the driver of one of the cars brandished a handgun at the two men in the other vehicle, police said. The suspect followed the victims as they turned from Monterey Road onto Vineyard Boulevard, toward La Crosse Drive.The suspect came to a stop at the intersection of Vineyard and La Crosse. He exited his vehicle and fired one round from the handgun into the passenger’s side of the victims’ vehicle, according to police.The victims’ vehicle made a U-turn at the intersection, and headed eastbound back toward Monterey Road, police said. The suspect continued firing toward the driver’s side of the vehicle. One of the rounds penetrated the driver’s side door and hit the driver in the lower left leg.The victim drove to Safeway at Tennant Station, and called 911, according to authorities. He was transported to the hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries related to the gunshot wound. The passenger of the victim’s vehicle was uninjured.Police set up a perimeter in the area of Vineyard and La Crosse, and the suspect’s vehicle was found a short distance away, the press release states. MHPD officers located the registered owner of the vehicle, from whom police learned that suspect Alexander Monzon, 19 of Soledad, was driving the car just before the shooting took place.  Police also learned that Monzon was wanted on a $4.9 million warrant for attempted murder out of Monterey County, authorities said.MHPD requested assistance from Gilroy Police and the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office. GPD responded with a tracking K9, while the sheriff’s office provided deputies and a helicopter to assist in the search, according to police.After a “systematic search” spiraling out from where the suspect’s vehicle was located, police found Monzon hiding inside a residence on John Wilson Way, according to the MHPD press release.Monzon was taken into custody without further incident and booked at the county jail for the warrant and on suspicion of the Morgan Hill shooting, police said.Residents reactSoledad Police Chief Eric Sills said by email that Monzon is wanted in relation to a shooting in Soledad that occurred in 2016, though he didn’t offer details. He said investigators think that shooting was gang-related.Residents of two apartment complexes near the intersection of Vineyard and La Crosse in Morgan Hill said they heard five gunshots outside their doors when the April 1 shooting happened.Tim Hughes, 38, who lives in an upstairs unit just outside the scene of the shooting, said it was “disturbing” to see a “gun battle in the middle of the street” outside his home. He added it seems there has been an uptick in shady activity in the area in recent months, and he hopes the presence of an alleged gang member from Soledad in Morgan Hill is not a sign of a trend.“If he’s wanted out of Soledad, what the hell is he doing here?” Hughes wondered. “Thank God they found him.”He said he heard loud tires squealing late Friday night—“not unusual around here”—followed by five “pops” that he immediately took as gunshots.“Then it sounded like (a car) was trying to get away,” Hughes added.While the incident marks the first shooting in the neighborhood in the six years Hughes has lived there, he added the area is becoming increasingly populated with “weird creepers,” gang members and drug using vagrants who hang out by the nearby creek during the summer.“We see police out here all the time looking for people,” Hughes said.He added he doesn’t blame the police for the apparent uptick in crime, and in fact praised MHPD for responding to the April 1 shooting so quickly.‘Growing’ town means more crime?The crime mapping website crimereports.com shows that MHPD, in the last six months, has responded to and processed nearly 20 crimes in the area of Vineyard and La Crosse—including at nearby commercial properties. Property crimes such as breaking and entering, auto burglaries and theft are the most frequent types of incidents listed.But at another apartment complex across the street from Hughes’ neighborhood on Vineyard Boulevard, two residents contacted by the Times said they still feel safe despite the shooting.However, both women said it seems in recent months they’ve been hearing more emergency sirens and seeing more police activity throughout town than they did when they first moved into the apartment complex.“You’re not going to get away from it,” said Sheena, who declined to give her last name. She has lived in the Vineyard Boulevard neighborhood for four years. “It’s a nice little small town, but it’s growing. I feel safe around here.”Anyone with information about the April 1 incident can contact Det. Fernando Del Moral at (669) 253-4964 or the anonymous tip line (408) 947-STOP (7867).

BVAL All League list announced

The winter season was a strong one for local teams with two league champions and five teams that made the playoffs.

Police: couple arrested for sleeping in stolen vehicle

Police arrested two suspects on suspicion of drug possession and sleeping in a stolen vehicle outside a Morgan Hill business late in the evening April 3.About 11:24 p.m., Morgan Hill Police received a call from Calderon Tires, 14720 Monterey Road, to investigate a possible trespassing violation, according to an April 4 press release from MHPD.Police arrived at the scene and saw a man and woman sleeping in a Jeep. Upon investigation, officers learned the Jeep was stolen out of San Jose, according to police.The two suspects—Adrian Rios, 25, and Denise Galvanvieyra, 22—were detained at the scene, police said. Both suspects said they were from Morgan Hill.Officers also learned that Rios had warrants for his arrests. When they searched the vehicle, officers found narcotics and shaved keys suspected of being used for stealing cars, police said.Both suspects were booked at Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of trespassing, possession of narcotics and vehicle theft, police said.Anyone with information about this case can contact MHPD Det. Fernando Del Moral at (669) 253-4964 or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-STOP (7867).

Acorns find success together

The benefit to graduating one player from the previous year is the chemistry that just carries over for a team.

Morgan Hill shines at Avis Kelley

GILROY—Oakwood’s Maryam Moghaddami is enjoying a week off at a good time.

MHPD: Road rage leads to shooting, arrest in Morgan Hill

A man was shot and a suspect, previously wanted on suspicion of attempted murder, was arrested after a late-night road rage incident in Morgan Hill Saturday, according to police.Just after midnight April 1, two vehicles were reportedly involved in the road rage incident that began on Monterey Road just north of San Martin Avenue, according to a press release from Morgan Hill Police.As the vehicles proceeded north on Monterey Road, the driver of one of the cars brandished a handgun at the two men in the other vehicle, police said. The suspect followed the victims as they turned from Monterey Road onto Vineyard Boulevard, toward La Crosse Drive.The suspect came to a stop at the intersection of Vineyard and La Crosse. He exited his vehicle and fired one round from the handgun into the passenger’s side of the victims’ vehicle, according to police.The victims’ vehicle made a U-turn at the intersection, and headed eastbound back toward Monterey Road, police said. The suspect continued firing toward the driver’s side of the vehicle. One of the rounds penetrated the driver’s side door and hit the driver in the lower left leg.The victim drove to Safeway at Tennant Station, and called 911, according to authorities. He was transported to the hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries related to the gunshot wound. The passenger of the victim’s vehicle was uninjured.Police set up a perimeter in the area of Vineyard and La Crosse, and the suspect’s vehicle was found a short distance away, the press release states. MHPD officers located the registered owner of the vehicle, from whom police learned that suspect Alexander Monzon, 19 of Soledad, was driving the car just before the shooting took place.  Police also learned that Monzon was wanted on a $4.9 million warrant for attempted murder out of Monterey County, authorities said.MHPD requested assistance from Gilroy Police and the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office. GPD responded with a tracking K9, while the sheriff’s office provided deputies and a helicopter to assist in the search, according to police.After a “systematic search” spiraling out from where the suspect’s vehicle was located, police found Monzon hiding inside a residence on John Wilson Way, according to the MHPD press release.Monzon was taken into custody without further incident and booked at the county jail for the warrant and on suspicion of the Morgan Hill shooting, police said.Anyone with information about this incident can contact Det. Fernando Del Moral at (669) 253-4964 or the anonymous tip line (408) 947-STOP (7867).

Vandals strike at Live Oak FFA farm

Someone broke into the Morgan Hill FFA farm at Live Oak High School last weekend, released all the cattle and scribbled political slogans on the walls, according to sources.On March 26, the vandal or vandals released an unspecified number of cattle from the Future Farmers of America farm on the East Main Avenue campus, according to Morgan Hill Unified School District Communications Coordinator Kimberly Beare.“Luckily, none of the cows were injured,” Beare said in an email. Additional vandalism included broken tack boxes and graffiti.A Morgan Hill FFA member who attends Live Oak wrote in a Facebook post that one of the graffiti tags on a wall read, “FFA KILLS.”“We are deeply saddened about the vandalism that took place at the FFA farms, but we are thankful that the animals were unharmed,” Beare added.Police responded to the scene shortly after the vandalism was discovered by school faculty and students March 26, but did not take a formal report, MHPD Cpl. Scott Purvis said, adding the damage was “minimal.”But local students who participate in FFA, and spend substantial time at the Live Oak farm taking care of their animals, are distressed over the incident.Ellie Fisher, 17, posted on the Facebook page “Morgan Hill CA Neighborhood Watch,” that one of the steers affected by the vandalism was hers. She described all the work she puts into caring for the animal, including spending her own money on feed, and working on the farm instead of attending school dances and going out with friends.She and other FFA members plan to show cows, poultry and hogs at a livestock show in August—an event she has been preparing for since last year.“In August, I will have spent thousands of dollars, giving my steer the best life he will ever have,” Fisher’s post read. “FFA does not kill. FFA teaches you leadership, independence and life lessons many will never have.”She added that the released cows, which are on “strict diets,” could have over eaten and suffered health problems.Fisher added, “This post is not made to do anything but stress the importance of education and protection of this industry.”The March 26 incident marks the second time in less than a year that the Live Oak farm has been vandalized. In July 2016, someone broke into an enclosure that housed pigs on the farm. The vandal or vandals released all the pigs, which subsequently suffered a variety of injuries.The farm will soon be equipped with security cameras that will offer remote surveillance of the farm, Beare added. In fact, the school expanded its network capacity recently to begin this process a couple of weeks ago.“We are working as quickly as we can to provide the necessary security to the area to ensure the safety of the animals,” Beare said.

Gilroy Sex Offender Teacher Set Free

A former Gilroy High School teacher has been sentenced to time served, or 16 months of a possible 11-year prison term, for soliciting nude photos of young boys and other sex crimes.

Police blotter: Burglaries, accidents

VandalismA group of about 10 Britton Middle School students were seen tagging a structure at Second Street and Monterey Road. The vandalism was reported 3:24 p.m. March 27.BurglaryA thief or thieves tried to break into two model homes on Diana Avenue. The suspect or suspects drilled the door handle off one of the homes, and tried to wedge the door open on the other. The crime was reported 12:55 p.m. March 19.Someone tagged the door of Live Oak High School, 1505 E. Main Ave. The incident was reported 12:08 p.m. March 26.Stolen vehicleSomeone stole a white 2011 Mercedes Benz from a location on the 16700 block of Condit Road. The vehicle was later found abandoned off the roadway near the intersection of Sycamore and Oak Glen Drive. The theft was reported 8 p.m. March 20.DisturbanceA group of young subjects was causing a disturbance on the top level of the downtown parking structure, located at 50 East Third Street. The subjects were being loud, racing vehicles, smoking and drinking alcohol. The disturbance was reported 9:19 p.m. March 23.AccidentMinor injuries were reported in a vehicle accident at East Dunne Avenue and Hill Road March 26. A Maserati collided with a Ford Expedition, resulting in “major front end damage” to the Maserati, according to police reports. The Maserati’s driver was arrested on suspicion of DUI. The accident was reported 12:01 p.m.A red Volkswagen Jetta and a green Dodge van collided head on in a traffic accident on Jarvis Drive March 27. Minor injuries were reported. The accident was reported about 1:50 p.m.All subjects are innocent until proven guilty. Information is compiled from public records.

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