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Auto theft

Asit Panwala, an attorney whose parents own the Comfort Inn, has been speaking on behalf of hoteliers who oppose the construction of two new lodging facilities in Madrone Village. He told the Times that the petition received 3,965 signatures, and he is confident most of those will be certified. Some signatures may not count on the petition because the signer lives outside of city limits or is not a registered voter.

Stolen vehicleSomeone stole a 2002 Chevrolet Avalanche from a parking spot on Ringel Drive in Morgan Hill. The theft was reported 2:43 a.m. Nov. 21. The vehicle was later found in Oakland.A thief or thieves stole a red 2001 Chevrolet Silverado pickup from the Cochrane Plaza shopping center on Cochrane Road. The theft was reported 5:28 p.m. Nov. 18.Someone stole a silver 1997 Acura Integra from a parking spot on Madrone Parkway. The theft was reported 12:58 p.m. Nov. 20.Petty theftTwo men and a woman ran away from a Wal-mart security officer who confronted them about shoplifting at the store located at 170 Cochrane Plaza. The thieves attempted to steal perfume and beer. Police caught up to the three suspects, who were staying in an RV parked in the area, and verbally warned them not to go to the store again. The theft was reported 6:03 p.m. Nov. 21.A man stole several DVDs from Safeway grocery store, 840 E. Dunne Ave. the man ran away from the store on foot when an employee confronted him about the theft. The stolen items were later recovered. The theft was reported 2:10 p.m. Nov. 20.Someone stole a woman’s wallet from her purse while she was shopping at Trader Joe’s, 17035 Laurel Road. The woman, a Gilroy resident, said she subsequently saw unauthorized charges on her credit cards. The crime was reported 6:58 p.m. Nov. 15.A woman tried to steal oil and other items from O’Reilly Auto Parts, 16060 Monterey Road. An employee confronted the woman as she waited for a bus at the nearby bus stop, and the thief returned the oil but not the other items, which were concealed in her pockets. The theft was reported 7:02 p.m. Nov. 16.Defraud innkeeperSuspects who dined at La Hacienda restaurant, 16825 Condit Road, left without paying a $211 dinner tab. They also stole another customer’s credit card. The suspects left in a small blue Dodge pickup. The theft was reported 8:06 p.m. Nov. 21.Reckless vehicleA gray four-door Mazda 6 was speeding and doing donuts in the area of Calle Mazatan and Calle Cabezal. The recklessness was reported 4:53 p.m. Nov. 18.VandalismSomeone broke the window of a silver Honda Accord parked outside Ross Dress For Less, 16955 Monterey Road. The crime was reported 12:32 a.m. Nov. 19.Auto burglaryA thief or thieves were able to open the trunk of a 2013 Nissan Sentra parked on Carriage Drive and enter the vehicle. The crime was reported 7:49 a.m. Nov. 19.DisturbanceAn intoxicated customer at Super Taqueria, 15840 Monterey Road, was ejected from the restaurant after initiating a “civil matter over a burrito” with employees. The man was verbally warned not to return to the restaurant. The incident was reported 9:52 p.m. Nov. 19.A male customer at KFC, 17050 Laurel Road, was screaming and trying to fight with employees. The man was told by police not to return to the restaurant. The disturbance was reported 7:38 p.m. Nov. 14.BurglaryA thief or thieves broke into a home in Morgan Hill by breaking a bedroom window. The homeowner had left home for about an hour and returned to find the window broken. The crime was reported 4:09 p.m. Nov. 14.Suspicious vehicleA truck that was missing its right front tire was seen running stop signs and committing other traffic violations in the area of Hale and Wright avenues. Morgan Hill police caught up to the driver, who had a warrant from the City of San Jose. The incident was reported 2:26 p.m. Nov. 15.All subjects are innocent until proven guilty. Information is compiled from public records.

More than four years after 14-year-old Tara Romero was gunned down in a drive-by shooting in southwest Morgan Hill, two of the five suspects accused of killing her and wounding three of her friends will stand trial starting this week. A third suspect recently pleaded guilty to the murder charge and will testify in the upcoming proceedings, according to authorities.On trial are Fernando Mateo Lopez, 24 of Gilroy, and Primitivo Hernandez, 27 of San Jose. The trial starts Wednesday, March 2, with attorneys’ opening statements at the Hall of Justice in San Jose. They are charged with murder and attempted murder for their suspected involvement in the Nov. 4, 2011 drive-by shooting at the corner of Cosmo and Del Monte avenues.Attorneys and jurors are prepared for a lengthy trial, as the 12-person jury plus alternates are qualified to attend the proceedings through April, according to Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Miguel ValdovinosExpected to testify against his former co-defendants is Ricardo Diaz, 23 of Morgan Hill, Valdovinos said. Diaz pleaded guilty recently to the murder of Romero, who was a freshman at Sobrato High School when she was fatally shot.Diaz has not been sentenced, and Valdovinos declined to specify the terms of his plea agreement when contacted earlier this week. Those details are expected to emerge during the current trial.A fourth defendant, Esmeling Bahena, 22 of Morgan Hill, was “severed” from the current trial, and will be tried for the same crime after April, Valdovinos added. “Some of the evidence against him is exclusively for him, based on evidentiary issues and a legal ruling that he cannot be tried by the same jury,” Valdovinos said. More details about his case are expected to come to light during this week’s trial as well.The fifth suspect, Ramon Gutierrez, 21 of Morgan Hill, remains in the custody of a state mental health facility. He was declared mentally incompetent to stand trial after the May 2013 preliminary hearing on the Romero case. He also pleaded guilty to assaulting a nurse at a facility in Atascadero in 2014, in an incident unrelated to the 2011 murder charge, according to authorities.All five suspects are accused of occupying the Chrysler 300 that drove slowly by a grassy knoll outside the Village Avante apartment complex the night of Nov. 4, 2011, and opening fire on the group of teenagers standing in the area. Romero and three of her friends were struck by the gunfire, which police said came from two shooters inside the vehicle.Romero was pronounced dead at the scene. The teens had been celebrating at a birthday party that Friday night, and were waiting on the corner for a ride home when the shooting happened.Police said the suspects were members of an illegal street gang, and carried out the shooting to settle a beef with a rival gang. However, the teens they shot were mistakenly targeted and were not involved in gang activity.Just minutes after the 2011 shooting, a Morgan Hill police officer was driving through the neighborhood on patrol when he saw the Chrysler blow through a stop sign. The officer began to pursue the vehicle as he heard a report of the shooting over his radio. He followed the Chrysler to Bahena’s home on Barnell Avenue, and arrested all five suspects after a non-violent standoff, according to police.Police recovered two firearms—a handgun and a SKS rifle—in the suspects’ possession, according to authorities.At the 2013 preliminary hearing for four of the suspects, MHPD officers who arrested them and followed up with the investigation, testified that Bahena, Gutierrez and Diaz told police shortly after their arrest that all five defendants were in the vehicle and carrying the firearms at the time of the shooting. These three suspects denied they were the ones who pulled the trigger.All five suspects have remained in custody since their arrest the night of Nov. 4, 2011.