Crime

Gov. Gavin Newsom this week signed a bill into law that is meant to curb the proliferation of untraceable firearms known as “ghost guns.” Assembly Bill 2842, authored by state Assemblymember Diane Papan, D-San Mateo, prohibits third-party gun destruction entities from reselling leftover gun parts...

The Hollister Police Department recently arrested a 15-year-old juvenile for resisting and obstructing a peace officer during a large gathering of juvenile bicycle riders that obstructed part of Airline Highway and Hillcrest Road, according to authorities.  Officers are also investigating a large group of juveniles...

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a stack of bills Aug. 16 aimed at curtailing organized retail, property and auto theft in California. Newsom appeared at a Home Depot in San Jose with state, business and law enforcement officials, signing 10 bills that he said go “to...

Former UFC fighter Cain Velasquez pleaded guilty Aug. 16 to multiple felony charges related to a 2022 vigilante high-speed chase and shooting spree through Morgan Hill that wounded an unintended target and endangered a nearby elementary school, according to the Santa Clara County District...

The California State Assembly Select Committee on Fentanyl, Opioid Addiction and Overdose Prevention on Aug. 12 during an informational hearing discussed the urgency of combating the rise in overdose deaths among youth in recent years primarily due to ingesting fentanyl.  Between 2019 and 2021, drug...

Local law enforcement and fire protection agencies hosted the annual National Night Out Aug. 6 in downtown Hollister, in an effort to encourage positive ongoing working relationships between public safety officials and community members.  Officers and firefighters helped kids and families climb aboard patrol vehicles,...

A traffic stop on Highway 152 by the California Highway Patrol in Santa Clara County led to the seizure of 70 pounds of crystal methamphetamine and the arrest of a Los Banos man. CHP officer Israel Murillo said an officer, aided by a K-9, found...

Police are asking for help from the public to identify the suspect or suspects who “severely damaged” a Hollister apartment complex by setting off an illegal fireworks explosion on Independence Day, authorities said.  The Hollister Police Department announced on July 13 that the city is...

In two separate Santa Clara County workers’ compensation insurance fraud cases, a child therapist and San Jose father and son business owners will face serious sentences for committing felony fraud, according to authorities.  Mark Anthony Ramos, 50, of Escondido, owner of Stars Bay Area Therapy...

A South Bay man has been charged with sexually molesting teenage children during church trips at his house on a Morgan Hill lake, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. The case against 54-year-old Norlan Macias, of San Jose, was launched several years...