Full Notification

On December 5, 2024, at 5:49 am Morgan Hill Police responded to a report of an in-progress auto burglary near Depot Street and Third Street in Morgan Hill. An auto burglary victim confronted the suspects, at which point the suspects all brandished handguns. The suspects fled the scene in separate vehicles. Four-minutes after the original call, an officer located both involved vehicles and attempted to initiate a vehicle stop, however, both vehicles evaded and led officers on a high-speed pursuit.
 
All Morgan Hill Police officers are trained and authorized to deploy Stop-Sticks as a Pursuit Intervention Technique. Stop-Sticks were successfully deployed, puncturing both vehicle’s tires, prior to the suspect vehicles reaching U.S. Highway 101.  Seconds later, both vehicles entered onto northbound U.S. Highway 101, during peak morning commute traffic.  Due to unsafe conditions, the pursuit was terminated in the interest of public safety.
 
Several minutes later, one of the suspect vehicles was located, unoccupied, on Cochrane Road near Malaguerra Avenue. The second suspect vehicle was also located unoccupied in the Mission Ranch neighborhood. All of the involved suspects fled on foot.
 
Over the course of the next several hours, the Morgan Hill Police Department, along with assistance from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol, Gilroy Police Department, California Fish and Game, and Santa Clara County Parks conducted extensive yard to yard searches, utilizing police K-9’s, drones and the CHP helicopter.  During the search, one suspect was located and taken into custody without incident.  The suspect was found to be in possession of a loaded “ghost gun.” The suspect was later booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail on numerous felony violations, including robbery, burglary and possession of a firearm.
 
We are asking the community in the area of Mission Ranch and Coyote Estates to check their home video cameras and provide relevant footage to Detective Corporal Sean Farrell at [email protected].
 
A separate and unrelated residential burglary on the 200 block of E. Edmundson, was reported just as officers returned to the station. Less than a minute after officers arrived on scene, the suspect exited the residence and immediately started running from officers and jumping fences.  The suspect was arrested without incident.
 
The Morgan Hill Police Department wants to remind our community to be vigilant during the holiday season and report suspicious activity to the police department. Please share videos with the police department even when posting them on social media. Happy Holidays and stay safe.