Cat burglar is convicted for his exploits on the dark side
Odd hairstyle resembles a 'Darth Vader' helmet
Sentencing hearing May 4
By Gloria I. Wang
A man with an obsession for Elvis Presley has been convicted for burglaries in Monte Sereno that occurred in January 2000.
Campbell resident Steven Burt Hall, 51, who sported a jet-black, hairsprayed pompadour that resembled a "Darth Vader" helmet, has also been linked to previous crimes in Saratoga and along Saratoga-Los Gatos Road.
A jury convicted Hall on April 12 of two counts of burglary and one count of terrorist threats. Hall had also been charged with one count of burglary for a home on Sperry Lane in Saratoga; however, the jury found him not guilty of that charge.
On Jan. 10, 2000, police noticed a suspicious vehicle parked in a Monte Sereno neighborhood. At 5 a.m., the car was still warm to the touch and the keys were still in the ignition. Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police K-9 unit Officer Sam Wonnell and canine Quarz followed the scent to a Greenwood Lane home. At the same time, the car was found to be registered to Hall at his Campbell address.
While Wonnell and Quarz were at the first home, police received a call about a burglary in progress at a neighboring property. Hall fled the property on foot because he could not access his car. He walked eight miles along Los Gatos Creek Trail to arrive home hours later, and police were waiting there to arrest him, initially charging him from parole violation for a prior conviction.
Hall was soon released from prison, rearrested after a car chase with sheriff's officers on Saratoga-Los Gatos Road, rereleased, and then arrested for good in December 2001. During that time, he was investigated by the district attorney's office, Los Gatos-Monte Sereno police and Santa Clara County Sheriff's Detective Sgt. Karen Burgess.
Before his most recent arrest, Hall had told his brother that he would take a gun, "blow his brains out" and then turn the gun on himself, said Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney John Luft. For that incident, Hall was charged with making terrorist threats.
Luft said Hall had previously been arrested and convicted in the mid-1990s after a Saratoga resident was awakened in the middle of the night to find Hall rifling through the drawers in his master bedroom. The man chased Hall around his property before Hall was arrested by police near the home.
In a bizarre twist, when the resident testified at Hall's latest trial, Hall said he did not believe that it was the same victim from almost a decade ago and insisted that the judge ask for documentation to identify the witness.
According to Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Sgt. Tim Morgan, Hall tended to break into homes late at night, when people were sleeping. "Steven Hall was probably one of the better cat burglars that we've seen around here," Morgan said.
"I'm not saying that Mr. Hall is guilty of any other crimes," Luft said, but he added that every time Hall was released from custody, there seemed to be an increase of cat burglaries in "dark, quiet, affluent neighborhoods" in Saratoga and Monte Sereno.
In November and December, Saratoga was hit with a rash of cat burglaries in which the thief stole cash, jewelry and other valuables from master bedrooms.
Although Hall was not caught with any stolen goods, Luft said, police found thousands of dollars in cash on his person at the time of his January 2000 arrest.
A sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 4. Luft said that this is Hall's third conviction. Under the "three strikes" law, Luft could receive 85 years to life in prison. Each felony that he was convicted for is eligible for 25 years to life, and he will likely receive an additional five years for each of his two prior convictions.
According to Luft, Hall is notorious among area law enforcement officials because of his hairstyle--its color and the amount of styling products he uses to keep it in place.
"He did cut quite a striking picture there," Luft said. "In a sense, Elvis has survived in Santa Clara County, but now will live elsewhere."
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
