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The man convicted of killing Morgan Hill teen Sierra LaMar failed to disqualify the judge who presided over his four-month murder trial this summer.An assigned judge’s Nov. 14 order denying Garcia Torres’ challenge to Superior Court Judge Vanessa Zecher—due to a perceived conflict of interest from 27 years ago—allows Zecher to proceed with his sentencing hearing Dec. 12 at the Hall of Justice in San Jose. Zecher will also hear any remaining defense motions—including a motion for a new trial—at future proceedings.A jury convicted Garcia Torres, 26, of Morgan Hill, of murdering Sierra after kidnapping her from outside her home in north Morgan Hill March 16, 2012. Sierra was a 15-year-old sophomore at Sobrato High School at the time of her disappearance, which prompted law enforcement officials and hundreds of volunteers to search for the missing teen for several months. Her remains still have not been found.Garcia Torres was also convicted of three unrelated attempted carjackings—in which he targeted women walking alone to their vehicles at night—in the parking lots of two Safeway stores in Morgan Hill.The same jury later determined Garcia Torres should be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, but the court has yet to formally sentence him. Prosecutors from the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office argued he should receive the death penalty.In September, lawyers for Garcia Torres filed a motion to disqualify Zecher because she previously represented a sheriff’s sergeant who played a prominent role in the investigation of Sierra’s disappearance.The Chief Justice of the State of California assigned San Francisco Judge Jeffrey Ross to review the case and rule on the motion to disqualify Zecher. On Nov. 14, Ross filed a written order declaring that Zecher can continue as a “fair and impartial” judge in future hearings for Garcia Torres.“The evidence does not demonstrate that a reasonable person aware of all the facts might entertain a doubt that the judge would be able to be impartial or that there was bias against or prejudice to a party or lawyer in the proceeding,” Ross’ order reads, in part.Specifically, Garcia Torres’ attorneys’ challenge of Zecher is based on her employment 27 years ago as the county’s deputy counsel, when she represented the sheriff’s office and 14 of its staff in a civil wrongful death lawsuit. One of the 14 employees was Sheriff’s Sgt. Herman Leon, who was the lead investigator in the disappearance and death of Sierra. Leon testified at length during the trial this summer for Garcia Torres.Leon was involved in the 1989 death of Jeffrey Leonti, a mentally ill inmate at the county jail, according to defense attorney Al Lopez’ motion challenging Zecher. Leon was a jail guard at the time of the incident.Leonti’s family subsequently sued the county over the death. Zecher—representing the county, Leon and the other sheriff’s staff named in the 1991 lawsuit—“ultimately consummated the settlement in which the (county) paid plaintiffs $650,000,” reads Ross’ Nov. 14 order.Due to Zecher’s previous representation of Leon, which she did not disclose prior to Garcia Torres’ trial, his attorneys argued that she should be disqualified from the upcoming sentencing hearing and other case motions. One of the motions yet to be heard in Garcia Torres’ case alleges misconduct by Leon during the investigation of Sierra’s disappearance, and false testimony in relation to hair samples that prosecutors presented as evidence of Garcia Torres’ guilt.Ross’ order notes that Leon played a “very limited role” in the 1989 incident that led to Leonti’s death. Leon “did not subdue Leonti…did not make the decision to conduct the strip search…did not make the decision to administer the taser, nor did he administer it to Leonti.”In response to Garcia Torres’ challenge, Zecher declared that although she “generally” recalls the Leonti case, she does not remember Leon’s involvement.  Garcia Torres’ upcoming hearing on Dec. 12 is billed as a sentencing hearing. His attorneys are likely to argue for a new trial at that time or in a future hearing, based on Leon’s testimony and conduct during the Sierra investigation.

San Martin is a cleaner and greener city today than it was last week, thanks to the efforts of about 80 South County residents who participated in the local chamber of commerce’s inaugural Trash Bash and Veterans Day Flag Raising event.

With more than eight years of planning and preparation under their belts, Santa Clara County has finally begun a vast, $26 million makeover of the William F. James Ranch juvenile detention center in northeast Morgan Hill.Officials say the expansion, which will increase the ranch’s detention capacity from 84 to 108 beds, will replace the much older buildings on the property off Malaguerra Avenue with more modern, efficient facilities. It will also make it easier for James Ranch staff to provide the wide range of services offered on site for youth offenders—including education, counseling, mental health services, life skills and more.“While the existing 50-year-old facility designed for a rural, agricultural community has been adapted to offer trade-based programs such as construction, carpentry and welding, a new facility is crucial to delivering programs that better serve the needs of youth living in Silicon Valley,” Nick Birchard, Deputy Chief of Santa Clara County’s Juvenile Institutions Division said in a statement.James Ranch houses both male and female youth offenders age 15-18, with a focus on rehabilitating and helping them productively return to their communities. Birchard said this age range will not change when the expansion is complete.The ranch houses children who have committed “more serious crimes,” or youth whose individual histories or needs are best served by the specific programs offered there, according to the 2016 Annual Santa Clara County Juvenile Justice Report.Grading for the expansion at the 11-acre site—off Malaguerra Avenue adjacent to existing James Ranch facilities—began in October, according to Santa Clara County Facilities and Fleet Capital Projects Manager Rudy Castelo.The expansion will include a new 31,000-square-foot dormitory; a new 7,300-square-foot gymnasium; a new 5,400-square-foot kitchen; and a new 6,000-square-foot administration building.Completion of the James Ranch expansion is projected for summer 2019, Castelo said.“We want to be able to give them a state-of-the-art dormitory facility,” Castelo said during a recent tour of the construction site, which is currently fenced off from the adjacent older James Ranch facilities that will continue to house and serve the detained youth until the new project is complete.Birchard added the new James Ranch design will “support the Enhanced Ranch Program vision,” which consists of small, personalized living spaces for treatment, as well as “a team approach in which small groups of juveniles and staff form therapeutic units focused on group process, personal development and the shared activities of daily living.”The bulk of the funding for the project comes from the state Local Youthful Offender Rehabilitative Construction Funding program under Senate Bill 81, according to county staff reports. Probation staff began seeking these funds for the James Ranch expansion in 2008.After a series of delays, the board of supervisors finally approved a $26-million design and construction contract for the site with Roebbelen Contracting in April 2016.Juvenile crime drops, but ranch needs riseA county probation “needs assessment” of the James Ranch expansion in 2011 predicts the need for more beds for detained youth will rise well into the future. This is due to the closure of the Muriel Wright Ranch, juvenile offender facility in San Jose, which housed only girls (who were moved to James Ranch after the closure); and an increased effort by national and local law enforcement to divert youth offenders to the therapeutic services offered by programs such as the James Ranch.Closing the Wright Ranch allowed the county to “consolidate at one site,” County Facilities and Fleet Director Jeff Draper said.Probation officials have also become more committed in recent years to ensuring that troubled youth are rehabilitated as close to their hometowns as possible, rather than being shipped to a far-away facility outside the county. “Local placement of these youth would allow them to maintain that sense of connectedness to their community and receive the needed family counseling sessions that are not an option when they are placed out of the county or state,” reads the May 2011 memo summarizing the needs assessment for the James Ranch expansion.  But the number of arrests and citations throughout the county is on the decline, according to the 2016 county juvenile justice annual report. In 2016, 3,310 juveniles were arrested or cited for offenses. That number is down 17 percent from 2015, and has declined steadily since 2012.More than half of the offenses committed by juveniles in the county are a combination of property crimes such as theft, vehicle theft, burglary; and alcohol/drug related crimes, according to the annual report.

May 19, 1933 - November 9, 2017

The Morgan Hill City Council will conduct a public High-Speed Rail study session at 5:30pm Nov. 15, followed by the body’s regular meeting at 7pm.The back-to-back meetings will take place at council meeting chambers, 17555 Peak Ave.The purpose of the High-Speed Rail study session is “to receive an update from Michael Baker, the City’s consultant on their findings associated with a high speed rail alignment that most closely aligns to Highway 101,” according to the agenda packet, posted on the city’s website at morganhill.ca.gov. “In addition, the City has reimbursement consultant agreements specific to the High Speed Rail project that will be also discussed at the Study Session.”The California HSR project will route trains through or around Morgan Hill, depending on which alignment the state officials select. The local segment’s environmental study is expected to be underway by the end of this year.At the regular city council meeting, the council will consider, discuss and possibly approve the following items:• Final map approval for the Evergreen rental project, a 168-unit residential apartment rental complex to be located at the northeast corner of San Pedro Avenue and Condit Road in east Morgan Hill.• Final map approval of the Evergreen for-sale project, a 74-unit subdivision on the northwest corner of San Pedro and Murphy avenues.• A three-year contract with Salinas Pump Company for $275,000, for on-call routine and emergency repair, maintenance and rehab of the city’s wells and pump stations.• A conceptual plan for improvements to Jackson Park in east Morgan Hill. The city has applied for grant funding for the improvements from the “Healthy Play Initiative.” The council will consider matching the grant with up to $72,327 from the city’s park impact fund.• Authorize the city manager to execute a letter of intent to purchase a 19.98-acre vacant property on Hendry Drive in unincorporated east Morgan Hill for an agricultural conservation easement. The cost of the purchase is not yet known, according to the city staff report. If the council approves the drafting of a letter of intent, the city will next conduct an appraisal to determine the site’s value. The appraisal is expected to cost about $12,000.• Site approval for the architectural and landscape plan for the 6,434-square-foot addition to the Morgan Hill Library, located at 660 W. Main Ave. The council has previously hired local contractor Weston Miles Architects to complete the expansion. The project will cost about $3.3 million worth of library impact fee revenues.• Approve an agreement with the California Student Opportunity and Access Program (South County Cal-SOAP) to provide a $25,000 college scholarship to a Morgan Hill student.• Award the Outdoor Sports Center artificial turf replacement project to Astroturf USA for about $1.48 million. The project will replace the turf on two fields at the complex on Condit Road.• Receive a report on the city’s 2016 water loss audit. The audit shows that in 2016, the city lost 9.9 percent of the water it distributed to customers. The losses are from unbilled water use and leaks. The lost water cost the city about $314,000. Most of that sum ($244568) is from leaks. The remainder is from unbilled water usage.• Receive a report from MHPD on police resources and recommendations for the city’s Public Safety Master Plan.

David Wolfsmith, the former Morgan Hill gym owner who was convicted of sexually assaulting 13 female clients, was sent to San Quentin State Prison following his Nov. 6 restitution hearing at South County Courthouse, according to authorities.From there, Wolfsmith will serve the remainder of his seven-year term on 14 counts—mostly felonies—related to the 13 victims, one of whom was age 13 when he assaulted her, Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Tim McInerny said. Wolfsmith will likely be “farmed out” from San Quentin to another facility in the California prison system.“That was a great relief to a number of victims, that he was finally shipped” to prison, McInerny said Nov. 14.Also at the Nov. 6 restitution hearing in Morgan Hill, the judge ordered Wolfsmith to pay more than $75,000 to his victims.This sum includes $25,000 in “non-economic” damages to the 13-year-old victim. McInerny described these damages as “basically pain and suffering.”“Children are the most vulnerable members of our society (and they) have a hard time dealing with the ramifications of these offenses,” McInerny said. He added these effects “can be long lasting.”On June 23, Wolfsmith, 51, pleaded guilty to 12 counts of felony sexual battery by fraudulent purpose, one count of felony lewd and lascivious acts against a child younger than 14 and a misdemeanor count of child molestation.Wolfsmith was arrested by Morgan Hill police in April 2016, after five of his victims reported the crimes. In the ensuing months, more victims came forward to report Wolfsmith assaulted them as well.He and his wife, Julia Wolfsmith, were the owners of Wolfpak Training Center in downtown Morgan Hill at the time of the assaults. Police reports and victims’ statements indicate the assaults—which were ongoing for some of the women—occurred inside the private gym facility.In exchange for the guilty plea, Wolfsmith agreed to serve seven years in prison and fulfill other sentencing requirements, including restitution and registration as a sex offender for the rest of his life.The judge ordered most of Wolfsmith’s restitution payments at the Nov. 6 hearing, but McInerny said some items remain to be settled at another hearing in December.To the 12 adult victims, the judge ordered Wolfsmith to reimburse a collective total of about $50,000 in gym fees, McInerny said. The amount for each victim was determined by the period of time they were assaulted by Wolfsmith and at the same time paying gym fees to Wolfpak.The judge also ordered other “economic losses” to victims. These include the women’s expenses for mental health counseling or ongoing therapy—a common need among victims who have faced sexual assault, McInerny said.McInerny added the restitution order is enforceable by law, and Wolfsmith cannot avoid making these payments by bankruptcy or any other effort.At the Aug. 25 sentencing hearing, several of Wolfsmith’s adult victims told Judge Jacqueline Duong that he manipulated, shamed and groomed his victims in order to gain control over them, before physically abusing them.The women described a “cultlike” atmosphere when they exercised at Wolfpak. After establishing a pattern of fear and intimidation, Wolfsmith physically assaulted the victims while insisting the contact was intended to measure their fitness progress or help them recover from injuries or exercise, according to the victims’ accounts.One of the women described in detail how he told her to remove her top when they were alone at the gym, so he could measure her body for exercise results. He walked behind her and “pulled (her) shorts completely down” and “unhooked (her) bra,” the woman said.Another victim said, after training at Wolfpak for two years, Wolfsmith invited her into the “massage room” for therapy. She immediately felt uneasy as she lied down on the massage table and “his breathing changed” as he began to touch her inappropriately. He then covered her face with a towel and pulled her shorts down. The woman “froze” in panic, she said.Another hearing is scheduled for Dec. 18 to settle up the remainder of the restitution, McInerny said. Wolfsmith has waived his right to appear at future hearings related to the criminal case.

Sobrato will enter the Central Coast Section Division V playoffs on an eight-game winning streak after taking down Evergreen Valley 28-7 Friday night.

Live Oak is heading to the Central Coast Section playoffs on a high note, following a 35-18 win over Lincoln Thursday night.

Indecent exposureA man was seen urinating into the duck pond at Community Park, 171 W. Edmundson Ave. He also exposed himself to a nearby child. The incident was reported 4:53pm Nov. 2.DisturbanceUp to five juveniles with skateboards jumped over the fence at the new Hilltop Park on West Third Street and were seen skating on the new slide. The park is not yet open to the public. The trespassing was reported 5:01pm Nov. 2.A large group of juveniles was hanging out in the Safeway parking lot, 235 Station Way, harassing customers. A female witness told police she did not feel safe getting out of her car. The disturbance was reported 9:47pm Nov. 3.Auto burglaryA thief or thieves broke into a vehicle on West Edmundson Avenue and stole a wallet and credit card. The credit card was later used by an unknown person to purchase items at Target and a gas station. The theft was reported 7:36pm Nov. 2.Someone stole a GPS unit from a Toyota Corolla rental car on Condit Road. The crime was reported 11:04am Nov. 3.A thief or thieves smashed the window of a Ford F-150 pickup on Chicory Lane, and stole a laptop computer. The crime was reported 7:38am Nov. 5.Someone smashed the window of a Honda Ridgeline near Barrett Avenue and Condit Road and stole a suitcase, laptop computer, iPad and textbooks. The crime was reported 10:41am Nov. 5.Petty theftA woman walked out of Safeway, 235 Tennant Station, with about $300 worth of baby formula that she did not pay for. The theft was reported 10:23am Nov. 3.Stolen vehicleSomeone stole a silver 2000 Honda Civic from a spot on Del Monte Avenue. The theft was reported 6am Nov. 9.A gray 2001 Volvo was stolen from a spot on Joleen Way. The theft was reported 4:03pm Nov. 7.Recovered stolen vehicleSomeone abandoned a stolen GMC Sierra pickup near Fountain Oaks Drive and Hermosa Court in Morgan Hill. The vehicle had Arizona license plates. The vehicle was reported 1:28pm Nov. 8.FraudA resident of Church Street received a call from someone claiming to be from “SJPD” who stated the resident’s grandson had been arrested. The caller said he needed $3,000 in gift cards for a bond to release the grandson from jail. The fraud was reported 1:48pm Nov. 8.An employee of a store on Cochrane road received a counterfeit $100 bill from a customer. The incident was reported 10:21am Nov. 8.BatteryTwo intoxicated sisters got into a fight and called police to report the violence, which occurred near the U.S. 101 and Cochrane Road intersection. Police responded, but the sisters decided not to press charges. The fight was reported 5:22pm Nov. 8.VandalismA vandal or vandals slashed six tires on a vehicle parked on Hazelton Court. The crime was reported 8:15am Nov. 9.All subjects are innocent until proven guilty. Information is compiled from public records.

Sobrato will host a college recruiting seminar open to Morgan Hill student athletes on Nov. 16.