Phone Calls Lead Police to Arrest Four Burglary Suspects

The vigilance of Milpitas residents has once again aided the Milpitas Police in rounding up and arresting a group of burglary suspects.

On Monday at approximately 12:24 p.m., an alert resident called the Milpitas Police Department to report a suspicious vehicle driving through the neighborhood. The vehicle matched the description of a vehicle involved in a recent residential burglary.

Within three minutes of receiving the call, the first patrol officers arrived in the area, and located a 2006 Gray Range Rover with paper license plates near Tassasara Drive and North Hillview Drive.

Two suspects were found in the vehicle, and a third suspect was stopped and detained a short distance away by additional patrol and motor officers who responded to the area.

While officers were interviewing the three suspects on Tassasara Drive, another resident a short distance away in the 800 block of Tramway Drive called Milpitas Police Dispatch to report a prowler in his backyard, looking into his windows.

Additional officers from patrol, traffic and community relations, as well as detectives from the investigation bureau, arrived within seconds and saw the suspect as he fled from the victim’s backyard and jumped over several fences into adjacent backyards.

As the suspect fled on foot, responding officers immediately set a perimeter around the area where the suspect was last seen. They were preparing to conduct a search of backyards in the area when the suspect emerged from inside of the perimeter and attempted to continue to elude capture, until he was taken into custody by perimeter officers.

Later Monday afternoon, a resident from the 700 block of Canada Drive reported that he had returned home that day to find his residence had also been burglarized during the same time element.

The suspects have been identified as Shawn Devon Hampton Jr., Jacque Copprue, Diamond Nicholas Hall and Lonnie Gedtry, all residents of Oakland. Hampton is on parole, Copprue is on probation, and Gedtry had an outstanding felony parole violation warrant for his arrest.

The suspects were booked into Santa Clara County jail for prowling, conspiracy and burglary. Additional charges included driving on a suspended license and resisting arrest.

Milpitas Police Chief Dennis Graham has lauded this as “an outstanding example of our community working with our officers to stop residential burglaries."

"In this incident we received calls from residents who reported suspicious activity and helped us tie suspects to criminal acts," Graham said. "And our officers’ quick response times and effective tactics resulted in all four of the suspects being rounded up.”

The Milpitas Police Department encourages all residents to immediately call and report suspicious activity.

Anyone with any information regarding this investigation or any other crimes is encouraged to call the Milpitas Police Department at 408-586-2400. Information can also be given anonymously by calling the Milpitas Police Department Crime Tip Hotline at 408-586-2500, or via the Milpitas Police Department website.