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A Gilroy man was sentenced earlier this month to 34 years in prison for repeatedly sexually molesting two young girls over a 10-year period.

Two women accused of stabbing three men in downtown Morgan Hill July 7 told officers that they were defending themselves from the men, who had been harassing them earlier in the evening. However, the alleged victims told police the attacks were unprovoked after a late night of drinking at local bars.

Morgan Hill City Councilman Larry Carr’s pre-trial conference on a domestic battery charge was again delayed at a July 11 hearing, where the judge ordered him to be present at the next court date.Carr, 49, is next scheduled to appear at the Morgan Hill Courthouse July 20.He did not appear at the July 11 hearing, but was represented by attorney Robert Burch. At the brief proceeding, Burch filled in for Carr’s regular attorney, Stuart Kirchick, who has been involved in an unrelated “lengthy trial” in a different courtroom, Superior Court Judge Edward Lee noted in court July 11.“We need to get this case going, but we need Mr. Kirchick,” said Lee, who also ordered Carr to be present at the July 20 hearing.Since his first court appearance after authorities charged Carr with misdemeanor domestic battery, in relation to a Nov. 25, 2017 incident at his Morgan Hill home, he has not appeared at three of the five hearings scheduled thus far for the case, according to court records. An attorney has appeared on his behalf at the hearings he has missed, and represented him at the proceedings where Carr has been present.Neither Carr nor Kirchick immediately responded to a phone call from the Times.The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s charge against Carr stems from an incident involving his girlfriend of 11 years, with whom he shared a home in downtown Morgan Hill at the time.Morgan Hill Police responded to the couple’s residence the evening of Nov. 25, and arrested Carr after taking statements from him and his girlfriend. The woman told police that Carr, during a lengthy verbal argument, “ripped the glasses from her face and threw them to the ground, causing them to break,” and pulled her hair in the process, according to the police report of the investigation.Carr told police at the time that any contact he made with his girlfriend during the argument was accidental.Carr—who is currently serving in his fifth term as a Morgan Hill councilmember—was convicted of a similar misdemeanor charge in 2015, in relation to an incident at the couple’s previous home March 23. Carr pleaded no contest to domestic battery and completed a 16-week counseling program. The court later dismissed the charge from his record, at Carr’s formal request. Carr has also denied acting violently in that incident, and said he pleaded no contest to avoid prolonged court proceedings.If Carr is convicted of the 2017 charge, the court can consider the 2015 conviction as a prior offense in his sentencing, according to authorities. 

Morgan Hill was decked in red, white and blue this Independence Day as visitors from far and wide joined locals in the annual Fourth of July Freedom Fest celebrations.

The cause of a fire that burned more than 50 acres of vegetation and killed four horses north of Morgan Hill is under investigation, according to authorities.About 1:45pm July 10, firefighters responded to the fire that began on Hale Avenue in the area of Live Oak Avenue, according to CalFire Fire Prevention Specialist Pam Temmermand. The fire burned on an agricultural property on the west side of Hale Avenue, just south of Miramonte Avenue.Before firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze with fire engines and other ground apparatus, as well as air tankers and helicopters, the fire burned about 51 acres of grass and vegetation, Temmermand said. Three outbuildings burned and four horses died as a result of the flames.The fire was mostly extinguished by the evening of July 10, but some crews remained at the scene the following day to clean up.No injuries were reported, Temmermand said.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District is moving forward with plans to build a new Pacheco Pass reservoir in Santa Clara County, which the district describes as a “game-changer” to ease the impact of future droughts in the Bay Area.If $485 million in state funds are approved this month, supporters they could raise the rest of the $969 million project budget from federal grants and increased water rates to build the largest reservoir constructed in the Bay Area in the past 20 years.The water district board on June 26 approved a memorandum of understanding between the Santa Clara Valley Water District, Pacheco Pass Water District and San Benito County Water District and approved an option to buy land with the Pacheco Pass Water District for the massive dam and reservoir project, which has been in the planning stages for a decade.The board last year submitted an application to the California Water Commission for funding of the project under Proposition 1, and final hearings before the commission were held in late June. The commission’s decision on state funding is expected by the end of July.While the Prop. 1 application is being evaluated by the water commission, the water district said it may seek federal legislative authorization for construction funding from Federal Water Infrastructure Improvements.“The Pacheco Reservoir Expansion Project is a modern solution to the age-old challenges of providing a sustainable water supply for our expanding population and businesses,” district staff said in a report. “This project will reduce the frequency and severity of water shortages, provide flood protection for disadvantaged communities, as well as protect and grow the native steelhead population.”The proposed state funding would come from Prop. 1, which was approved by nearly three-quarters of San Benito and Santa Clara county voters in 2014. The funding would come from the $2.7 billion Water Storage Investment Program, part of California’s Water Quality, Supply and Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014, a $7.5 billion bond passed by voters.The project would establish a new dam and expanded reservoir on the North Fork of Pacheco Creek that could hold 141,000 acre-feet of water, a substantial increase from the 6,000-acre-foot capacity of the existing reservoir. Constructed in 1939 and used for groundwater recharge, the reservoir is located about 13 miles southwest of San Luis Reservoir, off Highway 152.The district describes project’s potential benefits as “vast,” including the following:Increase suitable habitat in Pacheco Creek for the federally threatened South Central California Coast steelheadDevelop water supplies for the environmental needs of wildlife refuges to support habitat management in the delta watershedReduce flood risks for communities along Pacheco Creek and the Pajaro River as it flows through WatsonvilleImprove water quality, reducing taste and odor problems that result from seasonal algae blooms in San Luis Reservoir and cause Santa Clara Valley Water District operators to curtail deliveries from this sourceProvide an emergency water supply to Santa Clara and San Benito countiesIncrease reliability of imported water supplies to Santa Clara and San Benito countiesProvide additional water for groundwater recharge, benefiting agricultural water users downstream of the new damIncrease operational flexibility of water supplies at San Luis Reservoir and throughout Santa Clara CountyImprove opportunities for water transfers through San Luis ReservoirDistrict board member Gary Kremen, who chairs the water district’s Pacheco Reservoir Exploratory Ad Hoc Committee, said, “It is not often that we encounter an opportunity to build something that will have such profound benefits for the environment, flood control and water supply. There are few suitable spots in California for new water storage, and fewer still that substantially help threatened fish species. We’re fortunate to have one of those spots in our backyard.”The expanded reservoir would be filled with storm runoff from the surrounding watershed, and would also be used to store water imported through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.The project would include a new earthen dam and spillway. Other features are new pipelines, tunnels and a pump station to connect the new reservoir to the Pacheco Conduit, an existing pipeline near Highway 152 that conveys water from San Luis Reservoir to Santa Clara and San Benito counties.Key project partners include the Pacheco Pass and San Benito County water districts and eight wildlife refuges in the San Joaquin River Hydrologic Region. Support letters from 46 California state legislators, organizations, resource conservation districts, water agencies and individuals were included in the application.Jerry J. Smith, Ph.D., a fisheries biologist with experience studying Pacheco Creek since 1972 wrote the district, “The additional storage in the enlarged reservoir would potentially allow for increased releases from the reservoir into Pacheco Creek for rearing, including expanding releases to drought years when the existing reservoir would have insufficient storage to provide adequate releases for rearing steelhead.”Josué García, CEO of the Santa Clara and San Benito Counties Building and Construction Trades Council, wrote, “This investment in our future will create both short- and long-term jobs as well as increase local control of the water supply. Together, these changes will create consistent economic growth for the entire Silicon Valley.”The land is currently owned by the Pacheco Pass Water District, which manages the  Pacheco Reservoir.The Santa Clara Valley Water District agreed to pay the Pacheco Pass Water District $200,000 for the land under a 15-year option. The Santa Clara district would then construct the new $969 million reservoir near the existing reservoir north of Highway 152.The Santa Clara Valley Water District is a government agency based in San Jose that provides water and flood protection to 1.9 million people from Palo Alto to Gilroy.The existing reservoir was built on the North Fork of Pacheco Creek in 1939 behind a 100-foot earthen dam now badly in need of costly repairs.The water district has yet to identify where the other $484 million needed to build the new reservoir would come from.For more information, visit https://www.valleywater.org/project-updates/dam-reservoir-projects/pacheco-reservoir-expansion-project-proposed.

Police on July 6 arrested two teenagers who were acting suspiciously, and later learned the suspects are responsible for a recent string of commercial burglaries, according to authorities.

Two women were arrested on suspicion of stabbing three men in downtown Morgan Hill early in the morning July 7, according to police.Morgan Hill Police officers responded to the area of Monterey Road and Third Street about 2:15am, after receiving a call reporting a stabbing, according to authorities. The responding officers found a male victim suffering from a stab wound to his lower abdomen.Police also located a male victim in the area of Monterey Road and Spring Avenue, with stab wounds to his arm and abdomen, police said. Yet a third victim was found a few minutes later with a stab wound to his back.Officers provided first aid to the victims until Emergency Medical Services arrived. All three victims were transported to area trauma hospitals, according to police.One of the responding officers also found two women who appeared to be hiding from police in the area of Monterey Road and Dunne Avenue, police said. Immediately after contacting the two suspects, officers found a bloody knife with one of the women.The two suspects were identified as Tori Sanchez, 22, of Freedom, and Alexandria Campos, 23, of Morgan Hill, police said. They were booked at Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon.MHPD Sgt. Troy Hoefling said the suspects and victims had been drinking alcoholic beverages at the M&H Tavern, located on Monterey Road about half a block north of Third Street. Shortly after they exited the bar is when an altercation among the parties began, ultimately ending in the multiple stabbing injuries.The three men survived the attacks and were admitted to area hospitals, according to police. One of the men was released shortly after treatment.Anyone with information about the incident can call MHPD Det. Woodrow at (669) 253-4895.

Morgan Hill Police arrested a teen who used a fake handgun to rob three people the night of July 3, according to authorities.About 11pm, a young man and woman—both age 18—told police they parked their vehicle along a Cochrane Road apartment complex when a male suspect approached them.The suspect, later identified as Jorge Mendoza, 19, of Morgan Hill, pressed a handgun to the female victim’s head and demanded money, police said. The male victim, the driver of the vehicle, gave Mendoza all the money in his wallet. Mendoza then fled the area on foot.That incident occurred outside Cochrane Village Apartments, 18555 Butterfield Boulevard.Then about 11:40pm July 3, another caller reported a suspect matching Mendoza’s description brandished a handgun at her in the area of Cochrane Road and Monterey Road. That victim last saw Mendoza flee into a nearby field, according to police.Officers arrived and searched the field and found Mendoza, who was identified by several witnesses as the offender in both incidents, police said. Police also found a replica firearm near him in the field.Mendoza was arrested and booked at Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of armed robbery and brandishing a replica firearm, police said.MHPD is asking the public for assistance in determining if other similar crimes have occurred in Morgan Hill. Any other similar incidents can be reported to Morgan Hill Police by calling (669) 253-4985, or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-7867.