Crime

Two people—one from Hollister and one a Gilroy resident—suffered major injuries in a May 27 collision on Highway 25, according to authorities. One of the drivers was arrested on suspicion of DUI. Police and emergency personnel responded to the scene of the accident about 11:15pm,...

The Hollister Police Department will hold a DUI checkpoint May 5 at an undisclosed location within the city limits, according to authorities. The checkpoint will take place from 6pm to 1:30am. The goal of the checkpoint is to deter alcohol and drug-impaired driving, the latter...

A Hollister man who is charged with 28 felony sexual assault counts involving a child victim could soon find out if his case will go to trial, according to court records. Gilbert Lee Cortez, 74, is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on May 16 at...

David Anthony Pequeno was convicted of setting fires that destroyed or damaged multiple downtown Hollister businesses in November 2020, but was declared not guilty by reason of insanity, according to authorities. Following a hearing last week, Pequeno was ordered to spend up to the...

Fernando Buenrostro Estrada, 37, of Hollister, was sentenced to 16 months in prison after he pleaded no contest to felony driving under the influence, according to Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni.  Estrada also admitted that his blood alcohol content at the time of...

After nearly 30 years, detectives from the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office have identified a woman whose body was left on the side of a road in unincorporated Gilroy, according to authorities. Oregon resident Patricia “Patsy” Skiple, who was about age 45 at the time...

Police arrested a 19-year-old woman after she drunkenly crashed into numerous gravestones and burial sites at a Hollister cemetery, authorities said. About 6:47pm April 13, someone called Hollister Police to report there had been a vehicle collision at Calvary Cemetery, 1100 Hillcrest Road, Hollister Police...

A Hollister man who killed local teen Ariana Zendejas in 2014 and then fled to Mexico was sentenced to prison in a San Benito County courtroom this week.  Judge Gilbert T. Brown on April 11 sentenced Jose Antonio Barajas, 27, to a combined prison term...

Police arrested four people—including a juvenile with a handgun—on suspicion of participating in a criminal street gang during a traffic stop this week, according to authorities. About 3pm April 6, a San Benito County Sheriff’s deputy assigned to gang suppression saw a vehicle commit two...

Alfredo Zendejas, who is accused of killing two Hollister residents and injuring three others in a drive-by shooting, has been charged in court with numerous felonies in relation to the March 26 violence, according to authorities. At an April 4 arraignment hearing at the San...