The Silicon Valley Voice is dedicated to public safety, crime news, photos, and crime trials reporting in Sunnyvale and Santa Clara.
In atrial characterized by excruciatingly clinical descriptions of sex,and that came down to ‘he said/she said,’ Santa Clara County Prosecutor Lindsay Walsh convinced the jury that off-duty Santa Clara police sergeant Thomas Leipelt had willfully exposed himself to the plaintiff, identified only as “Danette Doe,” in the back storeroom of Santana Row boutique Annieglass. Defense … Read more
The trial of Thomas Leipelt got underway Monday morning in the county Hall of Justice. Leipelt is the Santa Clara police officer arrested last summer in San Jose on a charge of indecent exposure. Leipelt was off-duty at the time. The surprise about the arrest isn’t that it took eight months for the information to … Read more
As part of its year-round outreach to the Santa Clara Police Department (SCPD) K9 Unit, VCA Lawrence Animal Hospital in Santa Clara, donated two backpacks literally stuffed with emergency medical treatment supplies for the K9 unit on Feb. 4, just in time for Super Bowl 50. The K9 trauma kits contain everything that might be … Read more
Santa Clara Police Department Capt. Phil Cooke, Incident Commander for Super Bowl 50, was awarded the California Commendation Medal on Feb 7, 2016, for coordinating Super Bowl 50 Security. Cooke, a 27-year veteran with the SCPD, emphasized that team work is what ensured public safety at the Homeland Security Level 1 event–the highest level security … Read more
Rush hour for sex trafficking is about to begin as an anticipated one million football fans converge on the Bay Area for Super Bowl 50 pre-game events and the game itself on February 7 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. Santa Clara Police Chief Michael Sellers makes the point that sex trafficking has surrounded large-scale … Read more
Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote that if you gaze long into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you. After battling the Lake County wildfires, Troy Buzzell knows this all too well. Buzzell was one of six Santa Clara firefighters who helped quell the blazes that tore through northern California from September to October, consuming more … Read more
Recently, Santa Clara Public Safety Dispatcher, Lee Jett, got to meet with the heart attack survivor he assisted – a truly happy ending and new beginning. Mrs. Dan Burke called 9-1-1 on Thursday, November 19, at 2:15pm and said her husband was passed out in the bathroom. Upon further questioning, it was determined that he was having … Read more
“This is pretty cool!” said Wilson High School student Derrick Gil, whose P.A.L. holiday shopping escort was Santa Clara Police Department Chief Mike Sellers, who pushed a Target cart and made conversation. Gil was one of 50 Santa Clara Unified School District students nominated by their principals to participate in the Santa Clara Police Activities … Read more
Last Thursday Santa Clara Police evacuated a Scott Blvd. office building after a letter containing a white powder was opened in the office of a national civil rights organization, the San Francisco-Bay Area Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR). The Santa Clara Weekly is CAIR’s neighbor in the building. The white powder was “apparently” non-toxic, … Read more
Diners had no cause for alarm November 12 when Santa Clara Assistant Chief of Police Chief Dan Winter strode into the Fish Market Restaurant, 3775 El Camino Real, Santa Clara. It was not a crime scene. Rather it was the scene at lunch and dinner of the annual fall Tip-A-Cop fundraiser benefitting local Special Olympics … Read more