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Elizabeth Berry has given the Raiders an extra spark in her

Loyal readers of the Morgan Hill Times and its sister publications might have noticed that the newspapers’ newsstand vending machines scattered around town are gone. But there’s no need to worry, as the newsracks have been replaced by brand-new machines placed in centralized locations...

In 2006 newly elected Mayor Steve Tate stood at the groundbreaking ceremony of Morgan Hill’s soon-to-be library and told the crowd he was so excited he could jump up and click his heels—and then he tried. For those who see Tate only at council meetings,...

A year ago, Oakwood went into the final game of the season with a chance to clinch a Coastal Division championship.

The fourth suspect to face justice in the 2011 murder of Morgan Hill teen Tara Romero was found guilty by a jury in Santa Clara County Superior Court May 25.Esmeling Bahena, 22 of Morgan Hill, was convicted of first degree murder, five counts of attempted murder and three counts of shooting at an inhabited dwelling, according to Deputy District Attorney Miguel Valdovinos. The charges also include enhancements for carrying out the drive-by shooting for the benefit of a criminal street gang.Bahena’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 13 at the Hall of Justice in San Jose.The trial and the charges are related to Bahena’s involvement in the Nov 4, 2011 shooting attack that left Tara Romero dead at the age of 14, and wounded three of her friends and classmates at Sobrato High School.Romero’s mother was relieved with Bahena’s conviction, despite her previous dismay at the acquittal of another suspect just over a month ago.“I thought she took my happiness when she died, and I would never be happy,” said Romero’s mother, Annette Nevarez. “Now I know she’s at peace. All I wanted was justice. I feel like this big weight has been lifted off my shoulders.”Bahena was one of five alleged Sureño gang members who drove by the Village Avante apartment complex at Cosmo and Del Monte avenues in a Chrysler sedan, when at least one of the suspects opened fire on the group of teens. The shooters targeted the teens because they thought they were rival Norteño gang members, according to police. However, the victims were not gang affiliated, and were waiting for a ride home when the shooting occurred.Romero and her friends had been out celebrating one of the victims’ birthday earlier that evening.Police arrested all five suspects at Bahena’s residence on Barnell Avenue—about a mile from the scene of the shooting—later that evening.“I’m glad the jury held him accountable,” Valdovinos said. “This was just one step forward, and hopefully at the sentencing, the (murder) victim’s family will get a little more closure on the case.”Bahena’s trial is the second jury trial this year related to the murder of Romero and shooting of her friends. On April 15, a separate jury found Fernando Mateo Lopez, 24 of Gilroy, guilty of second degree murder, as well as five counts of attempted murder and three counts of shooting at an inhabited dwelling. That jury also found Primitivo Hernandez, 27 of Gilroy, not guilty of all charges.Lopez and Hernandez were defendants in the same trial, which lasted most of March and ended in early April. Bahena’s trial began May 10.Tara Romero’s father Joe Romero said he remains upset about the verdicts for Lopez and Hernandez, but he is glad Bahena’s jury “got it right.” He was in court for both verdict announcements, as well as almost all of the testimony and attorneys’ arguments in both trials.“Thank God this was a different jury,” Romero said. He added that Bahena’s jury only took half a day to reach a verdict, whereas the previous jury deliberated for several days.Ricardo Diaz, 23 of Morgan Hill, pleaded guilty to first degree murder earlier this year, and testified against Lopez, Hernandez and Bahena during their trials. Diaz agreed to a minimum sentence of 25 years in prison.The fifth suspect, Ramon Gutierrez, 21 of Morgan Hill, has been in custody at state mental health facilities since he was declared incompetent to stand trial after a 2012 preliminary hearing on the Tara Romero murder.Valdovinos argued and police testified in both trials that the suspects were trying to settle a feud with local Norteños that had been simmering in previous weeks, and they did so for the benefit of the Sureño organization.Evidence presented at the trials included text messages sent between some of the suspects describing their plan to acquire firearms and seek revenge; dozens of photos of the crime scene and weapons found by police at Bahena’s home, including an SKS firearm believed to be the murder weapon; and crime lab results that showed the suspects had gunshot residue on their hands shortly after their arrest.All five suspects have remained, or will remain, in custody until the conclusion of their criminal proceedings. Hernandez was released from the Santa Clara County Jail April 19, four days after the jury found him not guilty.

The city of Gilroy likely will be sued for damages by 11 surviving gunshot victims of the Gilroy Garlic Festival mass shooting, as well as the parents of 6-year-old Stephen Romero, who was killed in the July 28 incident, based on recent court filings.

Morgan Hill and Gilroy police celebrated the arrival of a new mobile command center that Morgan Hill acquired through multiple rounds of grant funding. The Morgan Hill Police Department took delivery of the new vehicle the morning of Dec. 21 at the station on Vineyard...

A local man who settled a wrongful arrest lawsuit against a southern California police department in 2015 claims he was illegally detained by Morgan Hill officers earlier this year after he refused to show them his driver’s license, and he thinks he has been targeted due to his history of contentious contact with law enforcement.The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office dismissed the case against Jesse Katz of Morgan Hill in relation to his Jan. 27 arrest near Del Monte and Spring avenues. But authorities say that doesn’t mean MHPD officers overstepped their bounds by taking him into custody.Civil liberties advocates disagree, and Katz says his arrest in Morgan Hill so closely mirrors an incident in Barstow in 2014—which ultimately forced that city’s police department to adopt a new training bulletin—that he plans to take civil action.On Jan. 27, an MHPD officer saw a motorcycle parked on the sidewalk, leaning up against a fence outside a residence on Spring Avenue, according to police reports found in Katz’ court file. As the vehicle was blocking the sidewalk—a violation of the state vehicle code—the officer stopped and tried to make contact with the owner.Katz, 38, was helping a friend at the home in question, and responded that he was the owner of the motorcycle when the officer called to him over the fence. The officer asked him to move the vehicle, to which Katz replied he would do so.After waiting “a few moments” without Katz approaching the motorcycle, the officer called out to him again, according to the police report. Katz then exited the yard and walked toward the motorcycle. The officer asked him for his identification, but Katz refused to present an ID and declined to identify himself by name.Katz then told the officer he wanted to speak to a shift supervisor, who arrived along with another officer within a few minutes.What is the law?After arguing with the officers on scene—as depicted in the initial officer’s body camera footage obtained by Katz—he was arrested on suspicion of refusing to present his driver’s license to an officer, and resisting police.But Katz argued with the officers and sergeant that he is not required to show his identification upon their request. He particularly took issue with MHPD Sgt. Carlos Guerrero’s statement during the incident that a driver’s signature on a California license “states you shall present your license when asked by an officer.”Katz said this is “100 percent factually inaccurate and untrue.”“That is only true when the person is driving,” Katz told the Times. “There is no law compelling a citizen to provide identification without cause.”California Vehicle Code section 12951, cited in the MHPD report, says “the driver of a motor vehicle shall present his or her license for examination upon demand of a peace officer.” On Jan. 27, Katz told the responding officers that he was the owner of the motorcycle, but not that he had been driving it. He declined to say whether he drove the vehicle to the location where he was ultimately arrested.The MHPD report does not claim that Katz had been driving the motorcycle.“If they wanted to issue a citation, they should have issued a citation to the vehicle,” Katz added.A staff attorney from the American Civil Liberties Union clarified that no person stopped by a peace officer in California has to present their driver’s license unless they are operating a vehicle.But the ACLU attorney, Adrienna Wong, said in general terms—not referring to Katz’ most recent case—the ACLU continues to see arrests of people in California on suspicion of resisting officers just because they didn’t present their ID when asked. These cases are often dismissed by prosecutors, but sometimes they aren’t, Wong said.“That’s a problem, when prosecutors keep filing those charges,” Wong said. “They should very well know that’s not the law in California.”Wong was also familiar with Katz’ 2014 case against the Barstow Police Department, in which he and his brother enlisted the ACLU to file a lawsuit claiming wrongful arrest. That lawsuit stems from an incident in which a Barstow officer asked the Katz brothers for their ID while they were eating at a restaurant, after another customer accused them of theft without presenting any evidence. The brothers refused, and the officer arrested them.The Katz’ each won a settlement of $15,000 from the City of Barstow. But Jesse Katz said the important part of the settlement is that Barstow officials agreed to adopt an internal “training bulletin” clarifying the law.“(A) person who is subject to a police contact or lawful detention is not required to identify himself,” the Barstow Police Department training bulletin reads, in part.Case closed?The D.A.’s office dismissed Katz’ case in April, according to Deputy D.A. Jason Malinsky. However, Malinsky noted there was “circumstantial evidence” that Katz had been driving the motorcycle that was blocking the sidewalk, and MHPD officers had probable cause to arrest him due to his multiple refusals to present his license, thus “delaying their investigation.”“We dismissed the case against Mr. Katz because we concluded the interests of justice would not be furthered by his prosecution for what amounted to a 13-minute delay,” Malinsky said in an email.MHPD Capt. Shane Palsgrove denied the Times’ request for the officers’ body-camera footage of the Jan. 27 incident. He noted that the D.A.’s office has a different standard for prosecution than police have for making an arrest, but he referred follow-up questions to the city attorney.Morgan Hill City Attorney Don Larkin said he has reviewed the MHPD file on the case.“I’m comfortable with how our officers responded,” Larkin said.Katz obtained one of the three responding officers’ body-camera videos—which he shared with the Times—through the evidence discovery process. Among Katz’ remaining complaints is the fact the authorities did not turn over the other videos.Katz also thinks MHPD has had it out for him ever since officers responded to his previous home, on Count Fleet Court in south Morgan Hill, multiple times on complaints of oversized or inoperable vehicles parked in his driveway. These contacts, which ultimately led to a citation for Katz, occurred in 2015.When the Times reported on that case, Palsgrove confirmed that an MHPD sergeant had sent an email to the department asking officers to respond to the Katz home with more than one officer due to the family’s “anti-police” stance. Palsgrove at the time cited Katz’ arrest in Barstow as one reason for the need to respond with numbers.Katz thinks it’s not fair for MHPD to react that way to a case in which he was “completely vindicated.”“There has been a clear pattern of harassment and arbitrary, inconsistent enforcement of the rules,” Katz said. “The only avenue left to me is to sue them in civil court and seek policy changes and police training guidelines, like we did in Barstow.”

The Morgan Hill Pumpkin Park at Uesugi Farms celebrated its opening weekend Sept. 28-29 welcoming thousands of visitors to the fall fun season.