Police Arrest Six Car Burglar Suspects

A total of six suspected car burglars have been arrested by Los Gatos-Monte Sereno police in the past month thanks to residents' tips and—in one incident— intervention from

The suspects, all from San Jose, were involved in three separate incidents, two in November and one on Dec. 3. Two of the alleged crimes occurred in Los Gatos and one in Monte Sereno, according to police.

One additional suspect remains at large. All have been charged with charged with possession of stolen property and one suspect is facing a slew of other charges such violation of probation, resisting arrest, possession of stolen mail, and possession of burglary tools.

On Tuesday, Nov. 1, at 4:40 a.m., were dispatched to the area of Central Court in Los Gatos, when a resident heard his car alarm sounding, looked outside and saw an adult male running to a vehicle.

The resident provided a basic description of the vehicle and responding officers weren't able to locate the vehicle nor the suspects in the area, police said.

A few minutes later, an officer on patrol near Los Gatos Boulevard at Blossom Hill Road, observed a vehicle matching the description of the one seen on Central Court. He made a car stop and arrested Michael Emerson, 22; Hannah Haley, 19; and a 17-year-old female, all of San Jose.

Emerson was found to be on parole for burglary, police said. A search of the vehicle revealed items stolen from cars on Central and Johnson avenues in Los Gatos and from locations in San Jose and Palo Alto.

Emerson and Haley were booked into Santa Clara County Jail and charged with possession of stolen property. The female juvenile was cited for the same violation and released to her parents.

On Monday, Nov. 14, at 1:56 a.m., police were dispatched to Bruce Avenue in Monte Sereno on a report of subjects going through vehicles with flashlights.

Officers arrived and began searching the area. At about 2:06 a.m., police dispatch received a call from a resident on Oak Knoll Drive, five blocks from Bruce Avenue, stating she had interrupted two subjects with flashlights going through her vehicle.

A patrol officer observed a vehicle driving from the neighborhood, made an enforcement stop, and found the occupants to be in possession of stolen property taken from vehicles on Poppy Lane and Bruce and Vista avenues in Monte Sereno. 

Arrested were San Jose residents Anthony Dixon and Jonathan Gonzalez, both 20. A neighborhood search resulted in the recovery of a large quantity of property dropped by the suspects, and the identification of more than 15 vehicles that had been opened and rummaged through, according to authorities. 

Items stolen and recovered from the unlocked vehicles included laptops, iPads, purses, wallets, checkbooks, sunglasses, GPS units, gym bags and backpacks.

Then on Saturday, Dec. 3, at 1:37 p.m., police were sent to Nino Avenue in Los Gatos when a resident saw a person burglarizing a vehicle. 

The suspects, described as two white males with shaved heads, were seen leaving the area in a black Audi. The witness saw just the first two digits on the license plate, police said. 

Later that day, at 2:43 p.m., officers were sent to Greenridge Terrace, about 2.5 miles from Nino Avenue, regarding two subjects going through mailboxes. The suspect and suspect vehicle descriptions matched that of the previous incident.  The suspects had fled prior to police arrival.

At 2:45 p.m., a citizen who had heard the police calls on a radio frequency scanner, reported that there was a black Audi with a similar license number parked at the shopping center at Harwood and Blossom Hill roads.

A check revealed that the Audi had been reported stolen in San Jose. Police units arrived to see the suspect vehicle speeding away, eastbound on Blossom Hill Road, and initiated a pursuit. 

The pursuit was terminated after less than a minute due to public safety concerns, police said.

A few minutes later, a patrol unit observed the suspect vehicle on Blossom Hill Road near Dartmouth Drive.

The suspect fled westbound on Blossom Hill Road. Police units waiting at Blossom Hill Road at Camden Avenue saw the suspect vehicle lose control while turning right onto Camden, striking the center island and continuing northbound in a trail of black smoke. 

The suspect abandoned the damaged vehicle at Camden and Kooser Road and fled on foot. However, Los Gatos-Monte Sereno police canine Berko responded with his handler and tracked one suspect to a patio enclosure in the apartment complex at that location.

Anthony Champagne, 20, of San Jose, was arrested for possession of stolen property, violation of probation, resisting arrest, possession of stolen mail, and possession of burglary tools. Detectives are working to identify and locate the second suspect in the vehicle.

Anyone with information about this investigation should contact Detective Kevin Elliott at 408-827-3211.

While Los Gatos and Monte Sereno are extremely safe communities and local police actively investigate auto burglaries, the most effective measure to stop auto burglaries are residents and visitors who take the following steps to prevent the crime from occurring, police said.

Police offered the following tips to avoid being a victim of vehicle burglary.

• Lock your doors and roll up your windows. Don’t let your vehicle be the easy target that criminals look for. At home, park your car in the garage. Even in safe neighborhoods, vehicles should always be kept locked.
• Don’t leave valuables in your car. Most auto burglaries have one common denominator: the vehicles have something valuable inside them worth stealing.
• Lock valuables away. Lock items in areas like the glove box or trunk instead of simply throwing the item under a seat or under a jacket. SUVs and station wagons are favorite targets of thieves for this reason.
• Plan shopping trips so you don’t unload bags full of valuables into your car and head back into the mall or shopping center. Try not to do this until you are ready to drive your vehicle to another destination. 
• Don’t make criminals curious. Avoid using towels or blankets to cover valuable items. This can sometime pique a criminal’s interest as to what is underneath the blanket.
• Set your car-alarm.
• Park in well-lit areas visible to passers-by. Consider installing motion detector lights to illuminate your driveway. 
• Report suspicious activity to police. Trust your instincts. If you see suspicious people or vehicles in your neighborhood or in public areas, or hear suspicious noises at night, please call 911 or the Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department at 408-354-8600.
• Police cannot function effectively without the assistance of responsible citizens. Police are encouraging the public to call them immediately if they feel a situation or circumstance is suspicious.