Full Notification

On Saturday March 19th at 10:57 pm, a Morgan Hill Officer attempted to stop a vehicle for a traffic violation on Peebles Ave. The officer activated his emergency lights and siren but the driver ignored the order to pull over and continued to drive in an attempt to evade the officer. The officer followed the vehicle in the northern part of Morgan Hill for approximately 2 miles. The driver of the vehicle eventually turned onto Monterey Rd. from Tilton Ave heading north in the southbound lanes. The officer immediately recognized the imminent threat to other drivers. Based on the blatant disregard for the public’s safety by the driver of the vehicle, the officer stopped the vehicle by implementing a legal vehicle intervention; the vehicle came to a stop and all occupants were ordered out of the vehicle by gun point. Three suspects were taken out of the vehicle without incident. The driver Arturo Urena 26 out of San Jose was arrested for evading a peace officer, driving under the influence, violation of probation and driving in a stolen vehicle. The front passenger Teresa Garfias 21 out of San Jose was arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance and being in possession of a stolen vehicle. The back passenger Julio Mata was arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance and being in violation of probation. All three suspects were later booked into the Santa Clara County Jail for their violations.

“The Morgan Hill Police wants to remind our community to pull over to the side of the road when they see or hear an emergency vehicle responding to an incident with lights and siren activated.”

Anyone with information regarding this case is urged to call Corporal Scott Purvis of the Morgan Hill Police Department, 408-779-2101 or the anonymous tip line at 408-947-STOP (7867).