Crime

The search for Sierra LaMar, 15, will expand to San Martin and Gilroy Thursday, nearly three weeks after the missing Morgan Hill resident was reported missing. 

San Benito County supervisors voted 3-2 on Tuesday to start negotiations with the City of Hollister on a contract for fire services, a move that would end a nearly 60-year relationship between the county and Calfire.

The Gilroy Police Department is facing as much as $1.25 million in damages after a federal civil jury Tuesday found a Gilroy police officer was negligent for fatally shooting a 33-year-old man in 2008 on Pacheco Pass, according to a press release from the GPD.

Two renowned experts who have spent their entire careers profiling violent, shady criminals and analyzing human behavior say that Sierra LaMar’s likely kidnapper – or kidnappers – probably stalked the missing teen before grabbing her from the street outside her home, and the victim’s personality is the polar opposite of her captor’s - an attribute that could end up saving her life. 

The county’s nearly 60-year relationship with Calfire could be going  down in flames Tuesday.

As the search for Morgan Hill resident Sierra LaMar, 15, moves into its 18th day, the KlaasKids Foundation announced two more upcoming volunteer search opportunities and urges the community to continue to help in the efforts to find her.

A man in his 50s suffered a superficial stab wound when an unknown suspect cut him with a knife north of Morgan Hill Sunday afternoon, police said. 

The state Monday announced that construction will start this week on a new $33.6 million county courthouse.

The KlaasKids Foundation is asking users of social media Internet sites to participate in a 24-hour online vigil for Sierra LaMar, the Sobrato High School sophomore who has been missing from her north Morgan Hill home for 17 days. 

Residents are invited to a community march through downtown Morgan Hill to raise awareness of missing teen Sierra LaMar in order to bring her home quickly and safely, according to organizer Dori Prado.