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Petty theftSomeone stole a wallet from a customer’s purse while she was shopping at Goodwill, 17630 Monterey Road. The crime was reported 5:05 p.m. April 5.A thief or thieves stole a television from a vacant room at Executive Inn & Suites, 16505 Condit Road. The theft was reported 8:53 a.m. April 3.FraudSomeone opened AT&T and Sprint accounts in the victim’s name in February. The crime was reported 9:48 a.m. April 6.Oversized vehicle parkingTwo recreational vehicles were reportedly parked on the side of the road on Diana Avenue for eight days without being moved. A witness told police the vehicles have been tagged in the past but the drivers only move them back and forth up the street. The crime was reported 8 p.m. April 4.Narcotics complaintA man who was “tweaking real bad” was challenging customers as they walked into the ampm convenience store, 18605 Monterey Road. The incident was reported 7:21 a.m. April 2.VandalismSomeone used a rock to break the driver’s side window of a gray Dodge Charger on the 17700 block of Park Way. Nothing was taken from the vehicle. The crime was reported 10:16 a.m. April 2.Recovered stolen vehicleA purple Honda Civic reported stolen out of San Jose was recovered on the 16500 block of Church Street in Morgan Hill. The incident was reported 11:30 a.m. April 2.DisturbanceSomeone reported teenagers were skating inside the downtown parking structure, 50 East Third Street. The garage is not yet open to the public. The incident was reported 1:37 p.m. April 2.A resident of La Jolla Court reported that a neighbor’s realtor has been flying a drone over their backyard. The incident was reported 3:59 p.m. March 28.Stolen vehicleA thief or thieves tried to steal a Chevrolet S10 pickup from the 16700 block of Del Monte Avenue. The owner approached the vehicle and found its passenger door unlocked and the ignition damaged. The incident was reported 2:38 p.m. April 3.Someone stole a blue Honda Civic hybrid from the 100 block of West Edmundson Avenue. The crime was reported 9:06 p.m. March 28.Auto burglarySomeone broke into a Ford Expedition and stole registration and insurance paperwork. The crime was reported about 1 a.m. April 4.AccidentA silver Honda Odyssey and a beige Ford Fusion were involved in an accident at a car wash located on the 15800 block of Monterey Road. The driver of the Odyssey allegedly refused to exchange information. No injuries were reported. The incident was reported 1:02 p.m. March 27.Municipal code violationA resident of Romal Court reported that a neighbor had 14 inoperable older Mercedes vehicles parked in their driveway and on the street, in violation of Morgan Hill municipal code. The violation was reported 3 p.m. March 24.All subjects are innocent until proven guilty. Information is compiled from public records.

Despite PJ Rochon’s three-hit day, Live Oak fell 5-2 to Lincoln in San Jose on Wednesday.

After returning home from his annual vacation to Arizona for San Francisco Giants’ training camp, Morgan Hill Mayor Steve Tate announced April 4 he will run for re-election.If Tate is successful at the polls Nov. 8, he will be starting his sixth consecutive term as mayor.“At our annual goal-setting retreat in late January, the Morgan Hill Council team, supported by our phenomenal staff, came up with a list of 44 significant projects for us to pursue this year,” Tate said in a written announcement. “I realized that at least 13 of these are not things we can accomplish in just a year’s time, but will require intense, long-term commitment to achieve the desired results, which...will make Morgan Hill even better than it is now (which is) always our goal.”Among the upcoming projects that Tate wants to continue to remain involved in are the ongoing Morgan Hill General Plan update; an update of the Residential Development Control System which is slated to go to the voters Nov. 8; creating an Economic Development Blueprint for the city; and how to enhance recreation opportunities and preserve farmland in the Southeast Quadrant, despite a county commission’s recent rejection of the city’s latest plan.Other high priorities for Tate include implementing the Community Choice Energy cooperative; the hiring of a new city attorney; and continued discussions with the California High Speed Rail Authority will remain important in the coming years, as that project has “reared its head” again, Tate said.Tate, 72, added that because of the length of time he has already served, he “really had to justify” running for a sixth term.“I am not a proponent of term limits and am very happy that we do not have them, but it does require that officeholders like myself know when they can no longer effectively serve and should call it quits,” Tate’s announcement continued.Tate was elected to his first term as mayor in 2006. Before that, he served on the city’s planning commission and as a councilmember. He is retired from a career at IBM.Other city offices to appear on the Nov. 8 local ballot are the city council seats currently occupied by Larry Carr and Marilyn Librers. Neither councilmember has formally announced whether they will seek re-election.Tate’s announcement added, “Today’s council works very well together and that really makes it a pleasure to be part of it.”

The death of 14-year-old Tara Romero in a drive-by shooting in Morgan Hill was the tragic result of “two very separate worlds colliding,” Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Miguel Valdovinos said in closing arguments for the trial of two of the teen’s alleged killers April 5.“Tara Romero (and her friends) had celebration in mind. On the other hand, you had five Surenos who had retaliation in mind,” Valdovinos told the jury in the San Jose Hall of Justice courtroom. “The (suspects’) plan was to go look for Nortenos and shoot Nortenos, and they were armed for that purpose. They opened fire and gunned them down,” he added, referring to the group of teens who had been out celebrating a birthday that evening.The victims were not gang affiliated, and the suspects mistakenly targeted them to settle an ongoing feud between the Sureno suspects and nearby Nortenos that escalated to vandalism, threats and beyond, according to authorities.The trial for Primitivo Hernandez, 27 of Gilroy, and Fernando Mateo Lopez, 24 of Gilroy, has been under way since March 3. They, along with three other suspects, are accused of killing Romero and wounding three of her friends in a gang-related drive-by shooting Nov. 4, 2011 at the intersection of Cosmo and Del Monte avenues. All five suspects have been in custody since their arrest by Morgan Hill police hours after the shooting.After the closing arguments by Valdovinos and defense attorneys, the jury will determine the fate of Hernandez and Lopez.Valdovinos summarized the testimonies of more than a dozen witnesses and hundreds of exhibits presented during the trial: the discovery of the SKS “killing rifle” in one of the suspects’ homes; ballistics analysis of the gun and casings found at the scene of the drive-by; gunshot residue found on all five suspects’ hands; text messages among at least three of the suspects that suggest a planned “conspiracy” to shoot Nortenos that night; and the statements of suspect Ricardo Diaz, who took the stand and testified against the defendants during the recent trial.The prosecutor also reminded the jury of a handwritten note allegedly produced by Lopez and found by police during the investigation. “I’m a crazy dude, my blue handkerchief hanging, always walking with my gun…present for my hood, Surenos killing Nortenos,” the note read.“That’s the gang culture,” Valdovinos said in his quest to convince the jury that the suspects’ criminal street gang affiliations motivated them to go out searching for rival gang members to shoot.Before the closing arguments began April 5, Superior Court Judge Linda Clark read a lengthy list of instructions to the jury. These instructions included the charges they were to consider for Hernandez and Lopez: one count of murder, five counts of attempted murder and three counts of shooting at an inhabited dwelling house.Each of these charges carries “special circumstances” or “special allegations”—such as gang affiliations and shooting from a moving vehicle—that could add more weight to the accusations if the jury accepts them.The attempted murder charges are related not only to three friends of Romero’s who were wounded by the same gunfire that killed the Sobrato High School freshman. They also include two teens standing with the other victims at the time of the shooting but “luckily” ran away and did not get hit, Valdovinos told the jury.Four of these victims—who had been out with Romero that evening and were her classmates—testified during the trial.State’s case based on ‘theories’Defense attorney Nicole Lambros, representing Hernandez, suggested that her client was wholly uninvolved in and unaware of the decision to shoot Nortenos or anyone else the evening of Nov. 4, 2011, even if he was a passenger in the suspects’ vehicle before and during the incident. She added that even if he has been affiliated in the Sureno street gang, that also does not necessarily implicate him in the shooting that killed Romero.“This case is not about theories or speculation…It’s about the facts and the evidence,” Lambros said.She picked apart the testimony and previous statements of Diaz, a key component of the state’s case against Hernandez and Lopez. She said Diaz’ statements to police and his testimony were inconsistent as to the five suspects’ motives. Lambrose pointed to one of his early statements in which he said the shooting “was about my windows,” and not about an organized gang retaliation.In the weeks leading up to the fatal shooting, the police investigation found that some nearby Norteno suspects had broken windows on vehicles belonging to the suspects and the home of another suspect, Esmeling Bahena, who will face trial for the same charges after the current proceedings.“Something about (Diaz’ testimony) causes you to doubt that Mr. Hernandez committed this crime,” Lambrose told the jury.Before the closing arguments, the judge cautioned the jury that by law they cannot convict the suspects on the Diaz’ testimony alone because he is an accomplice. His statement can only be considered in a conviction of the others if it is supported by additional evidence.Valdovinos added that while none of the evidence says which of the five suspects pulled the trigger, they are all guilty of murder and the other charges as “aiders and abettors.” Furthermore, Diaz’ testimony is reliable to some extent, partly because he pleaded guilty to the same charges and agreed to a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison.“We all get to go home. Mr. Diaz doesn’t get to go home; he goes to prison with a ‘snitch’ jacket,” Valdovinos said.James Blackman, attorney for Lopez, was scheduled to deliver his closing arguments April 6, but the Times was unable to attend. After his statement, Valdovinos gets a chance to rebut both defense attorneys, and then the case goes to the jury.Valdovinos concluded April 5, “There are no winners in this case; the damage has been done…The only thing I ask (of the jury) is to do the right thing and hold them accountable.”

Emily Munoz knows her history.

Three local teens who are all part of Boy Scout Troop 709 received their Eagle Scout Award during a March 27 ceremony.

Maui Jimenez didn’t have a hit against Evergreen Valley Friday, but as it turned out, he didn’t need one.

Morgan Hill was well represented at the annual Avis Kelley Invitational at Gilroy High School on Saturday.

Big innings in the third and seventh, mixed in with a solid all around offensive effort propelled Live Oak to a 10-3 win over Sobrato Tuesday.