Crime

On Saturday, the Facebook group Hollister Community Watch – supported by the Hollister Police Department – held a Community Clean-up event in Hollister targeting three areas of the community, according to an announcement from police.

The former Hollister martial arts instructor accused of sexually assaulting a juvenile girl is scheduled for a preliminary examination Sept. 30, according to court records.

Local drug enforcement authorities recovered an estimated 25,000 marijuana plants hidden in legal row crops on a property just outside Hollister.

David J. Quiroz, the Hollister man accused in the killing of 25-year-old Heather Carroll in October 2012, is scheduled for a jury trial in January.

Calfire has announced that billing is starting for the second year of the special fire fee for rural areas. The state agency also included information on resources to help residents pay those bills, according to an announcement from the organization.

A giant tree limb crashed down onto a parked car in the Nob Hill parking lot Thursday afternoon, while nobody was in the vehicle at the time.

The state has awarded San Benito County a grant worth more than $15 million to use on a jail expansion project expected to add about 60 beds and ease local pressures from prison overcrowding.

John Sears, 65, has given up life with cars and houses for life outdoors with a trio of four-legged equines. 

The Hollister woman who pleaded no contest to trying to slip sleep-aid medication to toddlers under her care at a Morgan Hill daycare facility was sentenced to six months in Santa Clara County Jail on Monday, according to authorities. 

Deborah Gratz, 59 of Hollister, was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Kenneth Shapero following a hearing at South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill. She was sentenced to six months in jail followed by four years of formal probation, with a list of conditions for her release during probation, according to Deputy District Attorney Sumerle Davis. 

In May, Gratz pleaded no contest to five counts of attempted child endangerment as part of a plea bargain with the D.A.’s office. 

The misdemeanor charges stem from Gratz’ attempt to put a sleep-aid drug known as Sominex into the sippy-cups of some children under her care at Kiddie Academy daycare in Morgan Hill, authorities said. Gratz had worked at the daycare business since 2007, and has worked in the childcare field for about 20 years. 

The attempted drugging occurred in early March, according to police. Another employee of Kiddie Academy saw Gratz place an unknown substance into the sippy cups of about 10 toddlers between the ages of 1 and 2. 

Staff at Kiddie Academy determined that Gratz had placed the over-the-counter sleep-aid medication in the children’s drinks, police said. The staff fired Gratz and reported the attempted drugging to Morgan Hill police. 

Officers investigated the incident, and arrested Gratz March 11 at her home in Hollister. 

None of the children were harmed by Gratz’ actions, police said. 

Police added that Gratz had a “spotless” record during her career as a daycare professional until the incident at Kiddie Academy was reported. 

Gratz remains out of custody, but she is required to report to South County Courthouse to begin serving her six-month sentence in jail Sept. 27, Davis said.

The Hollister woman accused of embezzling from a cattle dog rescue group over a five-year stretch faces an arraignment hearing Tuesday.