From Staff Reports
Morgan Hill –– Morgan Hill Police called the Sheriff’s Department and the California Highway Patrol for help Friday afternoon when an unruly and boisterous crowd became threatening.
Police were attempting to arrest Ruben Mestaz, 37, at the Morgan Hill Apartments, 17890 Monterey Road, at about 3:25 p.m. when a nearly hour-long melee and search began.
Police used pepper spray, which drifted with gusty winds to apartment residents watching and taking part in the melee, to break up the crowd. One man who received a heavy dose of pepper spray was treated by paramedic firefighters.
Some of the apartment residents disputed police accounts of the incident, saying that authorities were never threatened or in danger.
Jason Mestaz, an uncle of Ruben Mestaz, said relatives were yelling at police to alert them about the possibility of a baby being in the apartment. No baby was found in the residence.
Mestaz, who lives at 470 San Pedro Ave., was booked into Santa Clara County Jail on a warrant for violating probation. Police had received a tip that Mestaz was visiting relatives in apartment 105 at the complex.
Sgt. Dave Myers said police also wanted to question Mestaz about possible involvement in a recent burglary.
More than 20 officers from area departments were on hand as authorities searched for a 15-year-old relative who allegedly threw a bicycle at them.
The 15-year-old ran away but was captured about an hour later, hiding between two units along the railroad tracks at the rear of the trailer park located on the east side of Monterey Road at Wright Avenue. He was cited and released to a relative after a trip to the police station.
A 17-year-old boy, also a relative of Mestaz, was booked into Juvenile Hall on charges of battery on a police officer and resisting arrest.
Lt. Joe Sampson said Mestaz had barricaded himself inside the apartment with chairs and refused to let officers inside.
Police entered the residence when an officer broke a rear window, distracting Mestaz. He was eventually taken into custody after refusing to cooperate for a time, Sampson said.
Two other men in the residence were briefly detained.
“Several of the onlookers were relatives of Mestaz and refused to disperse when ordered by the officers to stay clear,” Sampson said. “The crowd on the outside became more and more boisterous and resistive to the sole officer who was still outside the apartment. They ignored his orders to back up.”
