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The Morgan Hill chapter of the American Association of University Women is sponsoring a civic engagement event to encourage, educate and advise any Morgan Hill residents who are thinking about running for local elected office.

Former San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield could remain in jail until the conclusion of his upcoming trial on charges that he raped a developmentally disabled woman at his Morgan Hill home.At the conclusion of Stubblefield’s preliminary hearing in San Jose Jan. 19, he was handcuffed and taken into custody after Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Tim McInerny added an enhancement for “use of a gun during the commission of sexual offenses” to the charges.This enhancement carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, McInerny said. It also means Stubblefield will be held at Santa Clara County Jail without bail at least until his trial is over.Stubblefield, 46, faces a total of five felony charges, on top of the gun enhancement, in relation to the 2015 alleged rape of the victim, who is in her 30s, according to authorities. These charges are forcible rape, forcible oral copulation, rape and oral copulation of a person incapable of consent, and false imprisonment.Stubblefield has pleaded not guilty to the charges. His next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 16, where the court and attorneys will set his trial date, McInerny said. Because Stubblefield has not waived his right to a speedy trial, his jury trial could begin in March.Stubblefield was arrested by Morgan Hill Police in May 2016, after officers conducted a year-long investigation into the victim’s claim that the former NFL star raped her. The incident allegedly occurred April 9, 2015. Investigators said Stubblefield asked the woman to come to his home in Morgan Hill to interview for a babysitter job. He initially contacted the woman through the website sittercity.com, and asked her to visit his home the next day for a job interview.After a brief interview, the woman left, according to authorities. But Stubblefield called her back and offered to pay for her time. When she returned, he carried the woman to a room, raped her, forced her to perform oral sex and then gave her $80, according to police reports.The woman drove straight to the Morgan Hill police station from Stubblefield’s home to report the incident, according to authorities.Stubblefield said in a statement after he was released on $250,000 bail following his arraignment in 2016, that he had consensual sex with the woman he is accused of raping. He denied all the charges at that time.Among those who testified during the preliminary hearing was the victim’s mother, with whom the victim resides, McInerny said, adding the victim has “never lived alone.” The mother testified about the victim’s daily routine and history of special education and services she has acquired for disabled adults.Authorities also presented the results of a psychological evaluation of the victim, commissioned by the DA’s office, McInerny said. This expert found the woman’s IQ to be “around 70.”“We established a history of the victim being serviced (for) developmental disabilities,” McInerny said.Stubblefield’s attorney did not immediately return a phone call requesting comment.The Feb. 16 hearing will take place at the South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill.Stubblefield was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round of the 1993 draft, and played for the team until the end of the 1997 season. He then played for the Washington Redskins, and returned to the 49ers for the 2001 and 2002 seasons. He then played for the Oakland Raiders in 2003.

In response to an uptick in traffic accidents going back several years, the City of Morgan Hill has adopted the “Vision Zero” collision-reduction strategy that combines street planning concepts, education of motorists on traffic safety, enforcement of existing traffic laws and adopting new policies in order to prevent injuries and deaths on the roadways.The Morgan Hill Police Department also announced this week that officers will begin increasing traffic enforcement “in an attempt to reduce injury collisions in 2018,” reads a Jan. 18 press release. “Effective immediately, the MHPD traffic team and members of the patrol division will be conducting proactive traffic enforcement during peak commute hours,” the press release states. “The mission of the officers is to educate motorists on the importance of traffic safety and to enforce traffic laws when necessary.”Such enforcement is just one aspect of the overarching Vision Zero concept, which was developed by authorities in Sweden in 1997, according to a presentation given by city staff to the Morgan Hill City Council Jan. 17. The council unanimously adopted the Vision Zero plan at that meeting.The Vision Zero mindset includes shifting from traditional assumptions, such as the belief that traffic fatalities are inevitable and that human error is not a significant factor in collisions, according to city staff. Under Vision Zero, authorities and planners assume that fatalities are preventable, human error will occur frequently and so forth.According to city staff, the guiding principles of Vision Zero include:• Traffic deaths are preventable and unacceptable;• Human life takes priority over mobility and other objectives of the road system, which should be safe for all users, all modes of transportation, in all communities and for people of all ages and abilities;• Human error is inevitable and unpredictable; the transportation system should be designed to anticipate error so the consequence is not severe injury or death;• People are inherently vulnerable and speed is a fundamental predictor of crash survival. The transportation system should be designed for speeds that protect human life;• Safe human behaviors, education and enforcement are essential contributors to a safe system;• Policies at all levels of government need to align with making safety the highest priority for roadways.“The elimination of traffic related injuries and deaths is our primary goal,” reads the press release.City staff added that Vision Zero action items fall into one of seven categories: Engineering, Enforcement, Education, Engagement, Evaluation, Encouragement and Equity.Some examples of Vision Zero policies and plans are already in place in Morgan Hill, according to city staff. These include more expansive data collection and analysis of collisions and traffic reporting; more diligent evaluation of planning for mid-block crosswalks; installation of “countdown timers” at newer signalized intersections; and consideration of future upgrades for several existing intersections/crosswalks to improve cyclist and pedestrian safety.Morgan Hill Police attribute the increase in traffic accidents in recent years to more commuter traffic on city streets, as well as more motorists using phone and GPS apps (such as Waze) that re-route drivers onto local roads.In 2017, MHPD responded to 269 traffic accidents in the city limits, which is in fact down from 287 such accidents in 2016, according to authorities. In 2014 and 2015, police responded to 209 accidents each year.

Stolen vehicleA thief or thieves ditched a stolen 2017 Dodge Ram outside a home on Monterey Road. The vehicle had been stolen out of San Jose. The vehicle was reported recovered about 9am Jan. 15.Someone stole a green 1996 Honda Accord from a spot on West Main Avenue. The crime was reported 11:02pm Jan. 14.A silver 1998 Honda Civic was stolen from a location on La Crosse Drive. The theft was reported 6:43am Jan 13. Someone stole a 1998 Honda Civic from a parking spot on Bluebonnet Way. The theft was reported 4:48pm Jan. 16.A 2009 Toyota Camry, reported stolen from a residence in Morgan Hill, was recovered on Jerome Street in San Jose. The owner of the vehicle left the car running outside the Morgan Hill home. A subject on a bicycle rode by the home and stole the running vehicle, leaving the bike behind. The Toyota was recovered 9:20pm Jan. 10.BurglaryA burglar or burglars broke into a maintenance yard on East Main Avenue and stole a golf cart. The suspect or suspects left the cart behind, with a broken wheel. The crime was reported 4:21pm Jan. 15.Someone broke a window on a home on Calle Mazatan and burglarized the house. The crime was reported 6:04pm Jan. 22.Grand theftSomeone stole about $3,500 worth of tools from a trailer on Oak Park Drive. The thief or thieves broke a lock off the trailer door to gain access. A 1999 Dodge pickup was attached to the trailer. The crime was reported 7:23am Jan. 19.A former resident of a home on Arguello Avenue stole about $6,000 worth of jewelry that belonged to the homeowner’s deceased wife. The crime was reported 8:04am Jan. 22. A thief or thieves stole an iPhone X worth about $1,000 from a location on West Edmundson Avenue. The theft was reported 9:14pm Jan. 9.Petty theftA suspect who fled in a small silver vehicle tried to steal about $1,500 worth of liquor from Safeway at Tennant Station Way. The crime was reported 1:09pm Jan. 12.Someone stole power tools worth about $600 from a site on East Dunne Avenue. The theft was reported 11:53am Jan. 19.A guest stole a television from a room in a hotel on Condit Road, and switched out the hotel TV with one he brought to the room. The theft was reported 12:54pm Jan. 20.Two men in their 20s stole ink cartridges from a store on Cochrane Road. They left the area in a dark blue Honda Accord. The theft was reported 3:37pm Jan. 21.Auto burglarySomeone smashed the window of a 2015 Toyota Rav4. The crime was reported 3:32pm Jan. 15.A thief or thieves broke into a Subaru Outback parked on Condit Road and stole a laptop computer, a tablet and personal information. The burglary was reported 6:24am Jan. 22.Someone smashed the window of a white pickup on Tennant Avenue and stole tools from inside. The crime was reported 7:50am Jan. 18.VandalismTwo men in their 30s pushed over two potted plants, breaking the pots, outside a downtown business on Monterey Road. The two vandals were arrested. The crime was reported 7:31pm Jan. 13.Someone broke a window on a vehicle parked on Encino Drive. The vandalism was reported 2:47pm Jan. 11.TheftA suspect stole a purse from a customer at Vineyard Town Center and ran away. The crime was reported 9:25am Jan. 14.A customer of a store at Tennant Station Way left the store with a backpack of baby items he stole from inside the store. The crime was reported 12:33pm Jan. 17. All subjects are innocent until proven guilty. Information is compiled from public records.

A Morgan Hill man who was convicted of the brutal murder of Bertha Paulson in 2013 was sentenced to life in prison last week.Michael Sheppard, 64, must serve a minimum of 15 years for the crime of second-degree murder, according to Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Chuck Gillingham.At the Jan. 19 sentencing hearing at the South County Courthouse, Paulson’s older sister and an advocate for the family read statements to the judge.Paulson’s sister, Margaret Waskey, traveled from the family home in rural Mountain Village, Alaska, to attend the sentencing hearing.The advocacy group Mothers Against Murder helped Waskey with travel expenses to Morgan Hill. MAM Executive Director Margaret Petros said a portion of Sheppard’s court-ordered restitution will go toward reimbursement of those expenses, if he ever pays.“We don’t expect that much money to come from the criminal—he’s in prison,” Petros said.Petros added that Paulson’s family members are pleased with the judge’s sentence.“We believe he will not walk out of prison, which was very rewarding for the family,” Petros said after the sentencing hearing. With justice served, Paulson’s family is now in the process of planning a memorial service and burial in Alaska, Petros added.Sheppard’s jury trial took place in October 2017 at the Morgan Hill Courthouse. The jury found that Sheppard killed Paulson, 45, the night of June 15, 2013 at his home at Morgan Hill Apartments, a small mobile home park just north of downtown. It was the only murder in Morgan Hill in 2013.Court files and testimony during the trial showed that Paulson died of a broken neck and suffered fractured ribs, collapsed lungs and numerous cuts. Her body was covered in bruises. These injuries resulted from a “brutal” attack by Sheppard inside his home, Petros described at the time.Paulson had moved to the West Coast—first to Seattle and then to the Bay Area—from Alaska about four years before her death, according to Petros and Waskey. When she arrived in Morgan Hill, Paulson was homeless, living in an encampment behind Morgan Hill Apartments, where Sheppard lived.Sheppard and Paulson had been in an “off and on” dating relationship at the time of Paulson’s death, according to Morgan Hill Police. Witnesses testified during the trial that they had seen Sheppard assault Paulson before the night of her death.During the October trial, Sheppard testified that he had been drinking heavily when he and Paulson began verbally arguing. This escalated to a physical altercation that ended in Paulson’s death.Initially, Sheppard admitted to police that he beat Paulson until she was unconscious. He tried to revive her but, unable to do so, he moved her to the railroad tracks behind his residence. Witnesses found her there, dead, the next morning.At the trial, Sheppard added that he used a shopping cart to move Paulson’s body. Sheppard also testified that when he laid her body near the railroad tracks, he tried to make it look like she had been raped. Police said she was found with her pants down and a jacket over her upper body.

The arraignment for Morgan Hill City Councilman Larry Carr on the charge of domestic battery has been postponed to Feb. 16 at the South County Courthouse, according to Santa Clara County Supervising Deputy District Attorney Vishal Bathija.The hearing was originally scheduled for Jan. 26, but Carr’s attorney requested the rescheduling due to a prior commitment by Carr, and Bathija did not object to the request.Carr, who has continued to attend city council meetings since his Nov. 25, 2017 arrest, and the rest of the council have a two-day annual “goal setting retreat” scheduled for Jan. 26 and 27.Carr faces the misdemeanor domestic battery charge in relation to a Nov. 25 incident in which Morgan Hill police say he battered his girlfriend of 11 years at the home they shared in the city’s downtown. The alleged criminal contact occurred after the couple had returned home from spending the Thanksgiving holiday in southern California.Carr and his girlfriend had been arguing about family matters since earlier in the day, according to the police report of the incident, which is on file at the Superior Court Clerk’s office.After police responded to a call requesting a welfare check at the couple’s residence, officers separated Carr and his girlfriend to take statements from them independently.Carr told the officers the only contact he made with his girlfriend during the argument was accidental, as he quickly moved his hands up to block a glass of water she was poised to launch toward him, the police report states. He specified that she only threw the water from the glass at him, but he “instinctively” thought she was going to project the vessel itself in his direction when he saw her pick it up and make a throwing gesture.His girlfriend told police that Carr deliberately “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. She also said when she was on the floor looking for her glasses, she pulled a chair out from the kitchen to facilitate her search. Moments later, Carr grabbed the chair and threw it down a flight of stairs, his girlfriend told police.Carr told officers it was his girlfriend who threw the chair toward him, as he was walking down the stairs, according to the police report. He further said he used his arm to block the chair from hitting him. The police report does not say Carr showed any injuries.The victim did not suffer any injuries or complaint of pain, police reported.Although initial MHPD reports stated that the victim, Carr’s girlfriend, had called to report the disturbance, the detailed police report states it was her sister who called authorities. The report says Carr’s girlfriend called her sister during their argument, and told her that Carr “was threatening her, pulled her hair, took her glasses and broke them.” Carr’s girlfriend was aware that her sister had called police before they arrived to investigate the report Nov. 25.The victim’s sister also told police that while she was on the phone with her sister during her argument with Carr, she heard him “yelling and screaming” in the background, according to the police report. The sister also told police that she was aware of four previous incidents of domestic violence between Carr and his girlfriend that were not reported to police.After talking to both Carr and his girlfriend, officers determined Carr was “the primary aggressor.” He was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence, and booked at Santa Clara County Jail.Carr has continued to deny the charge of domestic battery, but has not returned recent phone calls requesting comment.The city councilman 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 he pleaded no contest to avoid prolonged court proceedings.In 1993, Carr was convicted of misdemeanor driving under the influence resulting in bodily injury in relation to a vehicle accident in which he and two occupants of the vehicle he hit were flown to a nearby hospital. In a Dec. 8 statement on Facebook, Carr called this a “young stupid mistake 25 years ago.”

The majority of the Morgan Hill City Council still isn’t ready to make a decision on whether to legalize marijuana sales, commercial cultivation, deliveries and other activities in the city limits, as authorized by California Proposition 64.And the two voting councilmembers—Mayor Steve Tate and Councilman Rene Spring—who are ready to vote on a long-term local policy couldn’t be more opposed in their views of how much commercial and recreational marijuana activity the city should allow.Tate said at the Jan. 17 council meeting he prefers the city’s current “moratorium” on commercial marijuana sales and related activities in Morgan Hill. He cited public safety as his primary concern, shortly after Police Chief David Swing gave the council a presentation that listed impaired driving, youth access and other crime concerns the police department is likely to deal with as marijuana availability increases in the area.“I am not going to vote for anything that will make this community less safe,” Tate said.Spring, on the other hand—enticed by the possibility of up to $1.6 million in new annual revenue from potential local marijuana sales taxes—noted that marijuana is “already here” and the city should take advantage of Prop 64’s new leniency.“The world is changing. This is a great opportunity to jump on the wagon and do something we as a society and community can benefit (from),” Spring said at the Jan. 17 meeting. “Yes, we can tax it if voters approve. I’d be OK if that money goes into prevention and more (police) positions. This might give us access to state grants (which) could be used for education.”City officials have been considering what to do about marijuana under Prop 64 since the state’s voters approved the law, which legalizes recreational marijuana use (for those age 21 and up) and commercial sales, in November 2016. Statewide, Prop 64 passed with 57 percent of the vote. About 58 percent of Morgan Hill’s voters voted “yes” to Prop 64.Prop 64 also allows individual cities and counties to decide whether or not to allow commercial marijuana activity, and to what extent. Swing told the council their options are fourfold:• Allow sales, testing, commercial cultivation, delivery and/or production;• Allow testing, commercial cultivation, delivery and/or production;• Registration program for personal cultivators (Prop 64 allows all adult residents to grow up to six marijuana plants for personal use, on private property);• The city’s current marijuana policy, which prohibits the sale, cultivation and transport of marijuana for recreational, medical or other uses. In July 2017, the council updated its ordinance to remove references to “medical marijuana” in response to the approval of Prop 64, and clarifies that existing local restrictions apply to both medical and recreational cannabis sales, cultivation and distribution.None of the options would prohibit adults from using marijuana in private, as Prop 64 allows.A registration program for personal cultivation, however, would require any Morgan Hill resident who is growing marijuana for personal use to register their plantings with the police department, Swing explained last week. He said such a registry would be helpful to police and EMS who arrive at the scene of a residential emergency, so those responders will know if there are marijuana plants growing on site.Failure to register one’s plants could be a misdemeanor, infraction or no penalty, depending on the council’s preference, according to City Attorney Don Larkin.While the nearby City of Fremont has enacted such a registry, the courts have not had a chance to test the idea. Larkin said Prop 64 allows “reasonable regulation” of marijuana cultivation, and he expects the state and district courts “will be weighing in” on exactly what is reasonable.Pros and consBut for the time being, the city will leave the current policy unchanged, and will not implement a cultivation registry or allow any commercial marijuana activity in Morgan Hill. At the Jan. 17 meeting, the council directed police and city staff to conduct more research on the different options.This includes commissioning a scientific survey to determine more details of the public’s support for commercial and retail marijuana business, along with an associated tax or fee program, among Morgan Hill’s voters. Swing said such a survey would cost about $27,000, or more depending on the length of the survey.“We need to know what voters want before we put it on the ballot,” Councilman Rich Constantine said, referring to any marijuana program that would impose a new local tax on consumers and businesses.Councilman Larry Carr added he would like to see more details on “how strictly” the city can regulate marijuana businesses—for example, the quantities or strength of pot that could be sold by a licensed local dispensary.Swing’s presentation to the council included information on other states’ experiences with recreational marijuana—such as Colorado—and how legalization has impacted health and public services. He noted that if Morgan Hill begins to allow retail sales, the community would become the “sole access point for cannabis in South County,” as the City of Gilroy and Santa Clara County governments also currently prohibit sales.A key concern among law enforcement officials is the potential increase in drivers who are impaired by marijuana, Swing said. “The effects of marijuana are compounded when combined with alcohol,” he noted. Driving under the influence of marijuana is a state vehicle code violation.Furthermore, preventing youth access to marijuana products will be a challenge under Prop 64, noted Swing. He presented information to the council that indicates that in Colorado, areas with fewer marijuana dispensaries show a lower rate of youth cannabis use.And there are fears associated with the “all-cash” nature of the marijuana business, which could make cannabis storefronts and delivery people targets for robbery, Swing said.The benefits of allowing the gamut of commercial marijuana activities include more revenue for city services—between $675,000 and $1.6 million annually—as well as more jobs, Swing said.Cities that allow retail marijuana sales under Prop 64 will also be eligible for certain state grants, though Swing said the details of such funds and what they could be appropriated for are not yet available.