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Two women accused of stabbing three men in a July 7 altercation in downtown Morgan Hill will remain in jail at least until their next hearing, despite their attorneys’ pleas to reduce their bail from $175,000.

Morgan Hill City Councilman Larry Carr is scheduled to go to trial in August on a charge of domestic battery, stemming from a November 2017 incident at the downtown home he shared with his girlfriend at the time.Carr, 49, appeared July 20 at the South County Courthouse for the latest pre-trial hearing in the misdemeanor case. Carr’s alleged victim sat next to him throughout the morning court session. She had told Morgan Hill Police officers the night of Carr’s arrest that he broke her glasses and pulled her hair during a heated verbal argument.Carr pleaded not guilty to the charge in February. He told investigating police officers that any contact he made with the woman during the November argument was accidental.Carr declined to comment on the case outside the courtroom July 20. His attorney, Stuart Kirchick, said Carr and the victim are “on very good terms.” The attorney said he did not know their current relationship status, or if they still were living together.In February, at the same hearing where Carr pleaded not guilty, the judge granted him a one-year “peaceful contact order” that regulates the contact he can have with the alleged victim.The woman’s attorney, Wesley Schroeder, was also in court for Carr’s hearing July 20. Schroeder said the woman has a right to an attorney, but otherwise declined to comment on why she retained him as legal counsel. Schroeder also declined to answer questions about his client’s current relationship with Carr.Judge Jacqueline Duong set a trial date of Aug. 13 for Carr’s case. Kirchick said the trial, expected to last about five days, likely won’t begin on that date because he expects to be working on an unrelated trial in a different Santa Clara County courtroom at the time. But he thinks Carr’s trial will begin before August is over.The judge also ordered the victim to be on telephone standby for possible testimony during the trial. Schroeder asked that any subpoena or other court order for the woman be directed to him.It has not been determined if the August trial will be a jury trial or bench trial. California law allows Carr to request a jury trial, but he can waive that right and be tried by a judge. Kirchick said he and the prosecutor are discussing what type of trial will take place.Kirchick added that recent delays in Carr’s case are “not unreasonable,” and such delays are common in criminal proceedings. He added he has been unavailable for a speedier trial for Carr due to his involvement in an unrelated trial that began in April. He expects that trial will last until at least November, but he will be available for Carr’s proceedings in August.Morgan Hill Police responded to Carr’s residence the evening of Nov. 25, 2017, and arrested Carr after taking statements from both parties. The victim’s sister called police to report the incident. Carr’s girlfriend had called her sister earlier in the evening, during the argument with Carr, and told her that Carr was threatening her, pulled her hair and damaged her glasses, according to police reports.Police arrested Carr after taking statements from him and and the woman.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.

More than 150 kids and parents rocked out with Sean’s Music Factory Thursday, July 12 at the Morgan Hill Library on Main Avenue.

What started in 1979 as a small community food festival centered on the small, stinky, cousin of the onion has since turned into a world-recognized, Guinness record-holding, multimillion-dollar destination that helped put little Gilroy on the map. The Garlic Festival is a non-profit, but it's also big business–not just for the festival itself, but the entire South Valley, along with one of Gilroy's most recognizable companies, Christopher Ranch.

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.