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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.

Just before halftime against Mt. Pleasant, Sobrato runningback Jared Jones broke lose for a 40-yard touchdown.

Another construction project is about to begin in downtown Morgan Hill, as the owner of the former retail building at Second Street and Monterey Road is preparing to bring a new restaurant—or two—to the neighborhood.Contractors fenced off the roughly 8,000-square-foot property, on the southeast corner of the intersection, earlier this week after they acquired permits from the city, according to architect Jim Dumas of Dumas + Associates.The building formerly housed Royal Clothier and Tryst—both clothing stores that relocated elsewhere downtown after developer Steve Pace purchased the site in 2015.Dumas said his crews and the developer will be “gutting the building” and remodeling it for at least one restaurant space, though they might open it up for two such tenants. The outdoor space on the south side of the building—between the vacant structure and Prova restaurant—will be converted from the current “pocket park” to outdoor dining for the new restaurant.The developer does not have a specific tenant or tenants lined up yet, but Dumas said they are looking for a “restaurant/bar” to move in when construction is completed. A wine bar is another possibility.Construction is expected to last about eight months, Dumas added.Dumas didn’t know how old the Royal Clothier building is, but he confirmed it received seismic upgrades in 1990. He and Pace are planning to make it even more earthquake safe.Their plans also include accentuating the building’s existing “Spanish influence,” with “deeply recessed windows,” new entryways and other architectural features, Dumas said. The outdoor patio will include a “trellis shade structure” with lighting, plus fans and mist-spraying nozzles for dining during the warm seasons.More restaurants on the horizonThe Morgan Hill Redevelopment Agency purchased the downtown Second Street property for about $1.4 million in 2008, using bond proceeds. After the state shut down the RDA in 2011, the city was forced to sell off the Royal Clothier building—as well as other properties it owned downtown—to developers who would commit to projects with a mix of new residential and commercial uses that would complement each other and existing transportation infrastructure.Pace purchased the Royal Clothier building from the post-RDA regulators for about $880,000.Other former RDA properties were sold off to developers in a similar fashion about the same time the city council approved the sale to Pace. Construction or planning in various stages is underway at each downtown site.These former RDA properties include:• The former Simple Beverages site at Third Street and Monterey Road, where The Opa Group is in the process of building four new restaurants in two buildings under construction. That project is expected to be complete in January 2018.• The Granada Theater, which South Valley hospitality developer Frank Leal remodeled as a high-class event venue last year.• The former Downtown Mall site, which was also acquired by Leal. He has demolished the former structure, and is preparing to build the 60-room Granada Hotel on the site.• The former Depot Center or BookSmart shopping center, where developer City Ventures has been busy lately pouring foundations for a new residential/commercial project.• The “Sunsweet” property on East Third Street, where owners Rocke and Glenda Garcia have the council’s approval to build an 80-plus high-density residential project with a restaurant on the ground floor.Other projects underway or recently completed downtown are the Barley Place condominium project at East Main Avenue and Depot Street; and a restaurant, art gallery and wine bar with rooftop dining on the southwest corner of Second Street and Monterey Road (across the street from the Pace property).

On the surface, Jones took a simple counter play where he followed his blockers that broke him loose for a 41-0 lead. But that 40-yard run put Jones into the record books.

Before a Morgan Hill man beat Bertha Paulson to death in 2013, she had been the victim of domestic violence multiple times in the three years since she moved to California, according to authorities and her older sister.Her killer, Michael Sheppard, 64, was convicted of second-degree murder Nov. 2 in Paulson’s death. Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Chuck Gillingham said Sheppard faces a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in prison.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 last week’s trial—which started Oct. 30 at the South County Courthouse—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, described Margaret Petros of Mothers Against Murder, an advocate for Paulson’s family.“What is really sad is she did not have any family or close friends in this area,” Petros said from the nonprofit’s Los Altos office.Petros attended last week’s trial on behalf of Paulson’s relatives, who live in Alaska. The family could not attend due to the uncertainty of the trial date over the last four-plus years, and financial constraints.Shortly after Paulson’s death, her surviving family—which includes two older sisters and a number of nieces, nephews and cousins—contacted the advocacy group seeking help to transport her body back to her native home of Mountain Village, Alaska, Petros said. Paulson is also survived by her three adult children.Mothers Against Murder teamed up with two funeral homes—one in San Jose and the other in Anchorage, Alaska—to transport the body. The family then conducted two memorial services: one in Anchorage with extended family; and one in Mountain Village, where Paulson was buried.“MAM fully covered the cost to make sure the victim was treated with respect and dignity to her final destination,” Petros added.The victim’s older sister, Margaret Waskey, had even more questions about how Paulson died when she saw her sister’s body.‘A loving person’Paulson was the “baby” of nine siblings, Waskey told the Times on the phone from Mountain Village, a small town where she and other family members depend on seasonal fishing income to survive.“We were all hurt the first moment she was gone,” said Waskey, who adopted two of Paulson’s three children when they were young.She said Paulson moved out of Alaska about four years before her death, spending some time in Seattle before coming to California. Contact between Paulson and her family dropped off after she left Alaska, Waskey said.“A few months” before Paulson’s death, Waskey received a phone call from a San Jose hospital notifying her that Paulson had been assaulted by a man she had been seeing before Sheppard, Petros added.When she arrived in Morgan Hill, Paulson was homeless, living in an encampment behind Morgan Hill Apartments, where Sheppard lived.“She was a loving person,” Waskey said. “People liked to hang around with her.”Sheppard’s testimonyAccording to Morgan Hill police, during the initial investigation into Paulson’s death, witnesses said about a month earlier they had seen Sheppard—with whom she had an “off and on” romantic relationship—assault her.The Nov. 2 conviction of second-degree murder indicates the jury saw Paulson’s death as “more of a domestic violence type” of homicide, rather than a “calculated, thought-out crime,” Gillingham said. Even though he pushed for first-degree murder, Gillingham found the jury’s verdict “reasonable.”He also praised Morgan Hill police investigators.“It says a lot to the men and women in that department that in a case that involved the most marginalized of our society, they were willing to devote so many resources to ensure that I...had the tools to seek justice,” Gillingham said.During the trial, Sheppard testified that he had been drinking heavily when he and Paulson began verbally arguing. This escalated to a physical altercation that ended with 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. Petros said that the state’s testimony and other evidence indicated he hit her so hard in some places—including her head—that Sheppard may have used a baseball bat or similar weapon.Furthermore, throughout the court proceedings, Sheppard offered changing explanations for the attack—at one point claiming to be insane, and at others insisting he was so intoxicated he didn’t know what he was doing, Petros said.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.Violence rare at parkSince 2013, police and EMS have responded to Morgan Hill Apartments 190 times for service calls. Only three of these—including Paulson’s murder—were for reports of violent crimes, according to Police Analyst Margarita Balagso. The other two violent incidents were aggravated assaults. Ten of the calls were for domestic disturbances.Petros’ commitment to Paulson and her family is ongoing, as she and Mothers Against Murder hope to get her to Morgan Hill to attend Sheppard’s sentencing hearing, which is scheduled for Jan. 19. In fact, she hopes to fill the courtroom with supporters of Paulson and victims like her.“No one deserves to have their life taken away like this,” Petros said. “My agenda is to bring awareness out there, and let the public know how much hurt there is.”

Gilroy resident Frank Louis Masoni died in combat just two days after landing with the U.S. Marine Corps at Tarawa Atoll in the South Pacific in November 1943. Nearly three-quarters of a century later, in the summer of 2017, his remains were positively identified by military officials, and his South County descendants will finally get to bury him.