By Khalida Sarwari
Morgan Hill police were kept busy today with a spate of stolen vehicles and two car chases, one leading to the arrest of a San Jose teenager.
The string of events began around 2 a.m., when police received two separate calls reporting stolen cars on opposite sides of town.
First, a resident on Bluebonnet Court near Jasmine Way reported a black Acura had been stolen. Minutes later, another resident in the area of Cory Drive and San Benancio Way reported two suspects attempting to steal another vehicle, according to police.
Officers responded to both calls. At the Cory Drive home, police found two cars stopped in front of the home. Both vehicles then sped onto northbound U.S. Highway 101, leading the officer on a chase, police said.
Officers followed one vehicle to south San Jose, where the driver stopped at Highway 101 and Capitol Expressway, got out of the car and tried to run. An officer ran after him and arrested the 17-year-old San Jose resident on suspicion of stealing a vehicle, according to police. He was
booked at the Morgan Hill police department and released to his parents.
Police later found the second vehicle that fled from Cory Rd. sitting unoccupied on Highway 101 near Cochrane Road. It had been stolen from a house on Majorca Drive.
Meanwhile, a responding officer on his way to Cory Drive noticed a black Acura speed past him with its lights off. He changed course and pursued it eastbound on East Dunne Avenue. The car, traveling at speeds of 100 mph and faster, lost control during a southbound turn on East Dunne just east of Gallop Drive and crashed into a tree, police said.
Police determined the car was the same one reported stolen earlier from the home on Bluebonnet Court.
The officer witnessed the driver, wearing a dark hat, ponytail and gray sweatshirt, jump out of the wrecked car and jump over a backyard fence towards Thomas Grade, police said.
A fourth vehicle, reported stolen from San Jose, was found in the parking lot of Carl’s Jr. on Condit Road later this morning. An investigation revealed that the other three vehicles were stolen recently from Morgan Hill. Police believe the two suspects had attempted to steal a fifth vehicle on Cory Drive but were interrupted by the officers’ arrival.
The Regional Auto Theft Task Force is assisting police with the investigation. Anyone with information about the identity of the suspects is encouraged to call Detective Christensen at (408) 779-2101 or the anonymous tip line at (408) 947-STOP.