Police/Fire

Bruno

A man and woman, both with San Jose addresses, were arrested after hitting a vehicle on Foothill Expressway and fleeing on foot Tuesday afternoon (Nov. 12), according to the Los Altos Police Department.

Capt. Katie Krauss said that the Regional Auto Theft Task Force (RATTF) officers were conducting surveillance on a black pickup truck in Los Altos when it collided with a Prius on the expressway near Magdalena Avenue and Springer Road at approximately 3:45 p.m.

A female driving the Prius reported moderate injuries and was transported to El Camino Hospital for treatment. The suspects, one of which was also injured, ran toward the Rancho Shopping Center.

Krauss said an immediate search for the suspects was conducted in the residential area behind the shopping center. Jesus Sanchez, 35, and Linda Carmona Bruno, 29, were apprehended by the RATTF team. Krauss was not sure of how much time passed between the vehicle crash and the suspects' arrests because the Los Altos Police Department was not the arresting agency.

Sanchez

Following their detainment, officers learned that a firearm may have been disposed of in the area. An "extensive search" was conducted by officers and a canine unit, but no firearm was found, the sergeant stated. On Wednesday at an undisclosed time, the firearm was found in the 600 block of Fremont Avenue.

Bruno was booked into the Santa Clara County Jail for an outstanding warrant; Sanchez is currently hospitalized because of his involvement in the crash. He is being charged with possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of a firearm by a felon and felony hit and run, according to the report.

The Town Crier will update our online coverage with more information as we get it. To stay in the loop, follow our social media throughout the week.

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According to incident reports provided by the Los Altos Police Department, three of four recent thefts involved unsecured property.

A suspect stole a bicycle left out in the open that was unlocked between 5:30 p.m. and 6:40 p.m. Nov. 4 on the 900 block of North San Antonio Road.

A petty theft resulted from a resident’s failure to lock his or her car between 1:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 5.

Another petty theft occurred after a suspect opened an unlocked vehicle and stole personal property on the 100 block of First Street between 6 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Nov. 6.

An incident that occurred at approximately 10 a.m. Oct. 23 on North Gordon Way went unreported until Nov. 7. According to the victim, a suspect stole landscaping equipment from a truck whose owner was working at a local residence. The police report does not indicate whether the equipment was inside the cab of the truck, in the bed of the truck or tied down or locked up for safety purposes.

All of the unknown suspects remain at large, said Sgt. Brian Jeffrey Friday.

Jeffrey offered residents three tips to ward off would-be thieves.

• Lock up possessions and secure doors to residences and vehicles. Locks, lock boxes and safes, tool boxes and more serve as effective deterrents. Alarm systems and/or security cameras should be activated and recording when vehicles and residences are unattended.
• Photograph valuables so that the make, model, serial number and more are recorded in case something is stolen.
• Report crimes and suspicious activity to the police as soon as possible via the appropriate number: 947-2770 (nonemergency line), 947-2779 (seven-digit emergency line) or 911 (emergency line).

The Los Altos Police Department’s Neighborhood Watch program assigns neighborhood block captains to connect residents and officers and to share information on crime trends.

To sign up for the Neighborhood Watch program, visit losaltosca.gov/police/page/neighborhood-watch.

Police officers have arrested two teenage boys accused of assaulting a pair of Los Altos residents and stealing their car from a downtown parking garage.

Atkins

A Mountain View Police Department officer investigating suspicious behavior outside of a department store on Showers Drive last week ultimately uncovered dozens of stolen items, including gear belonging to another Bay Area law enforcement agency, and facilitated the arrests of two suspects. 

Courtesy of the Santa Clara County Fire Department

A Santa Clara County Fire Department firefighter works the fire line in Sonoma County.

Among the nearly 5,000 first responders battling the Kincade Fire in Sonoma County are a contingent of local men and women. They’re assisting their neighbors to the north through California’s Fire and Rescue Mutual Aid System, which provides coordinated response during major emergencies.

“By providing mutual aid, we reinforce their forces and hopefully can mitigate whatever disaster, whether it’s fire, flood, earthquake,” said Mike Krisman, Santa Clara County Fire Department battalion chief.

Local DUI saturation patrols and safety enforcements involving decoy pedestrians could be in the forecast as part of a $65,000 grant the California Office of Traffic Safety recently awarded to the Mountain View Police Department.

The funding, a slice of the $84 million the OTS distributed to agencies across the state via 303 separate grants, is paying for a yearlong program of special enforcements and public awareness campaigns to prevent traffic-related injuries and deaths. The program began Oct. 1 and is slated to run through Sept. 30, 2020.