Crime & Safety

Los Gatos PD Nabs 4 Burglary Suspects

Police alerted to burglary in progress by alert housekeeper; suspects apprehended in matter of minutes, three arrested after foot pursuit through St. Mary's School, which prompts lockdown.

Four male suspects from San Jose were arrested Wednesday just after the noon hour after their attempt to burglarize a house in the Almond Grove District failed.

Those arrested were Jose Henry Franco, 21; Stephen Gonzalez, 22; and two juveniles, ages 15 and 16, according to Los Gatos Monte Sereno police spokesman Sgt. Kerry Harris.

At 12:07 p.m. Wednesday afternoon a housekeeper at a residence on Bayview near Bean Avenue heard the sound of breaking glass and saw a male entering a house.

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She called police and units were dispatched to the area. At about 12:11 p.m., the first unit arrived and found Stephen Gonzalez, 22, of San Jose, a parolee, sitting in a white and gray parked car on his cell phone acting as the lookout for the other suspects, Harris said.

Other officers arrived on the scene to the rear of the residence just as the three other suspects ran out of the house apparently after having been alerted by Gonzalez on the cell phone, Harris said.

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One suspect, a 16 year-old, was captured a few minutes later down the street and was carrying a San Francisco Giants jacket that turned out stolen from inside the residence. He was also carrying stolen credit cards.

The remaining two suspects fled from the address toward and through St. Mary's School's yard as officers were in pursuit on foot and directed teachers and administrators to conduct a school lockdown as a precautionary safety measure.

At 12:18 p.m. officers on scene located Franco on Victory Lane near Bean Avenue.

A perimeter around the area was then set up to locate the final suspect, a 15-year-old who was arrested after being located behind Willow Street Wood-Fired Pizza at Lyndon Plaza. 

The Campbell Police Department was also sending two units to assist.

Officers found that all suspects had stolen property and that they were dumping it as they ran, Harris said.

The suspects were booked into the Santa Clara County Jail in San Jose and Juvenile Hall.

The lockdown at St. Mary's School lasted between 10 and 15 minutes, Harris said.

More than 10 officers responded to the scene, including four patrol units, one school resource officer, one traffic unit, one traffic sergeant, Los Gatos Monte Sereno Police Chief Scott Seaman, two captains and several detectives for evidence collection and processing, Harris said.

Due to fingerprint and evidence collection, the scene was finally cleared at about 4:20 p.m., he said.

"What was really noteworthy in this whole chase was the confluence of a citizen who saw something unusual and called us and allowed us to get there in a timely manner," Harris said.


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