Almaden Resident

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The alert actions of an Almaden Valley letter carrier helped catch a suspected mail thief, according to a Dec. 28 report by the U.S. Postal Service.

Mailman Armando Bautista was near the end of his route on the 1400 block of Almaden Valley Drive on Aug. 22 when he noticed a suspicious man whom he had never seen before.

As he delivered mail to his last house, he heard the previous house's mailbox slam shut, and saw the man walking away with the mail. Bautista called 911 and flagged down a Santa Clara County sheriff's deputy on patrol.

"He also called us here at the station," said Bautista's supervisor, Pedro Flores. Thanks to Bautista's quick action the individual was arrested on suspicion of mail theft.

Bautista has been a letter carrier in the Almaden office at 6525 Crown Blvd. for more than 15 years, and San Jose officials and the U.S. postmaster general recognized him for his efforts.

Boy robbed of
cash and phone
near golf club

On Jan. 14 at 5:50 p.m., two men robbed a juvenile of his cash and cell phone on the 6600 block of Crystal Springs Drive, according to San Jose police. Authorities said the men had a weapon, and they told the boy to lie on the ground as they fled the scene.

One man was described as white, between the ages of 18 and 20, approximately 6 feet 3 inches tall, with a slim build. The second individual was described as Hispanic, between the ages of 18 and 20, approximately 5 feet 6 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall and heavy-set.

Anyone with information, call the San Jose police robbery unit at 408.277.4166.

17-year-old uses
stun gun on teen
at Oakridge Mall

A 17-year-old juvenile used an electronic-stun weapon on a 19-year-old woman at Oakridge Mall. The incident occurred on Jan. 17 at 5 p.m. The teenager purchased the weapon online, according to police.

The woman sustained minor injuries including red marks to her upper arm. No ambulance was required, and the weapon was recovered.

According to police, the teen was on probation for felony vandalism from another county. He was arrested on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and cited to his parent's custody.

City TV channel
expects glitches
as it upgrades

Civic Center Television channel 26 may have some interruptions and outages in January and early February as its staff replaces some of equipment, the San Jose city manager's office reported. Some council meeting replays may not be aired, but live programming should not be affected, station representatives said. City council and committee meetings are also broadcast live online at www.sanjoseca.gov. The council meets on Tuesdays at 1:30 p.m.

Express buses to
BART stations
are now rolling

The Valley Transportation Authority began its service changes on Jan. 14, lopping off some underused bus lines and adding new express lines and community bus routes.

Two new express lines run from San Jose Diridon Transit Center: The Express 181 goes to the Fremont BART station and the Express 168 runs to the Gilroy Transit Center. The Express 180 also goes from Diridon to the Great Mall in Milpitas. VTA officials say downtown San Jose riders should expect more frequent service on several lines, and there are a number of buses that now run every 15 minutes.

"The increased level of service and improved connections in the downtown area will make taking public transportation a more convenient and desirable alternative to driving," said San Jose Councilman Sam Liccardo, in a statement.

For more information and a map of the new system, visit www.vta.org or contact the VTA at 408.321.3200.