Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Police arrest 18-year-old for Wherehouse robbery

By Shari Kaplan

Eight days after a robbery at The Wherehouse music and video store on Los Gatos Boulevard, Los Gatos/Monte Sereno police arrested Los Gatos resident Christopher Germany-Howe, 18, for the robbery.

On Dec. 3 at 9:40 p.m., police officers arrived at The Wherehouse, minutes after a robber, who witnesses said wore a ski mask and carried a blue steel handgun, fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of money. Following interviews with witnesses and other people connected with the incident, police detectives John Pernick and Jim McBrayer gathered enough information to obtain a search warrant for Germany-Howe's residence. On Dec. 11, officers joined Pernick and McBrayer in searching Germany-Howe's home on Los Gatos-Almaden Road.

According to the police report, officers found items from the store Germany-Howe allegedly robbed, as well as the handgun and clothing they believe he used during the robbery. They also discovered 14 plastic bags of marijuana packaged for sale, a scale, drug-packaging materials and four dosage units of a drug they believed to be Ecstasy, which consists of methamphetamine and a hallucinogen.

According to LGPD Sgt. Michael Barbieri, Germany-Howe admitted to police after his arrest that he had committed the robbery at The Wherehouse. The Santa Clara County Office of the District Attorney has filed charges against Germany-Howe of robbery and possession of marijuana for sale. He is scheduled to be arraigned on these charges Dec. 26. He is not being charged with armed robbery, according to a spokesperson from the district attorney's office, because it is believed he robbed the store with a starter pistol.

An additional charge of possession of a dangerous drug is pending; as of Dec. 19 the Santa Clara County crime lab had not yet completed its analysis of the suspected Ecstasy found in Germany-Howe's home.

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