Crime

San Benito County has recovered nearly $700,000 stolen from a recent vendor payment fraud scheme, according to the county Auditor-Controller’s Office.  The recovery of the funds will allow the county to “issue proper payment to the legitimate vendor,” Auditor-Controller Joe Paul Gonzalez said in a...

The San Benito County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a social media page that recently posted a political cartoon that allegedly encouraged violence against public officials and their families, according to authorities.  The Facebook page known as “Benito Beet Beat” published the post on Nov. 3....

San Benito County officials have requested an audit and investigation services from the state controller’s office after a recent fraud incident brought the county’s total known loss of public funds to theft or embezzlement to more than $1.1 million in recent years.  Concerned that there...

A 49-year-old Hollister man died in a shooting on Sunnyslope Road Oct. 28, according to authorities.  Hollister Police responded to reports of a shooting about 7:22pm on the 1100 block of Sunnyslope Road. The occupants of two vehicles were involved in the shooting, Hollister Police...

San Benito County recovered $696,602 that was stolen by a suspect or suspects through a complicated phishing scam, according to local officials.  Authorities are investigating the fraud attempt, in which the county’s auditor-controller’s office had approved the payment to someone who falsely posed as a...

A Hollister man stole a truck in Gilroy and injured two bystanders while trying to flee from police, authorities said. The man was arrested following a pursuit with officers.  On Oct. 4, a patrol officer located a stolen vehicle in the area of Murray Avenue...

Police are investigating the death of a nine-month-old infant in Hollister that was reported the morning of Sept. 25, authorities said.  About 7:48am, Hollister Police responded to an emergency call reporting an unresponsive infant at a home on Glenview Drive. The call reported the infant...

During a joint investigation into a suspected narcotics trafficker operating in Gilroy and San Benito County, investigators from the Gilroy Police Department Anti-Crime Team and detectives from the San Benito County Criminal Apprehension, Suppression, Prevention Response Team recently served a search warrant at a...

A Gilroy day care operator stalked and sexually molested her foster child and engaged in Satanic rituals, according to allegations in documents reviewed by the Gilroy Dispatch. Santa Clara County officials filed a July 31 criminal complaint that details the charges against Christina Jean Johnson,...

San Benito County will conduct a full audit of the public library after two former employees were convicted of embezzling more than $360,000 from the county.  Former library staff members Erin Baxter and Mary Alvarez were recently convicted of embezzling about $360,755 of library funds...