Saratoga News

Arrest for drunken driving leads to additional charges

By Michelle Alaimo

Santa Clara County sheriff's deputies arrested Jon Carter, a 31-year-old Santa Clara resident, on Oct. 8 on charges of drunken driving and possession of a controlled substance after he crashed a car into a garage at 5 a.m. in the Arroyo De Aguello area of Saratoga. Sheriff's Department officials said the man is also a suspect in 14 burglaries in the same area that occurred near the beginning of September.

At that time, a burglar entered occupied homes between 2 and 5 a.m. through open or unlocked windows on Aug. 29 and Sept. 2. The burglar took mainly cash and one watch.

Deputies are looking into the possibility of one other suspect but could not release any other information.

Det. Luther Pugh of the Westside Substation said Carter is currently on probation for similar offenses.

When arrested, Pugh said, Carter had property in his vehicle which did not belong to him, but none is linked to any burglaries in Saratoga. Deputy Greg Taylor, the arresting officer, also reportedly found six grams of methamphetamine in Carter's possession. The car that Carter crashed into the garage, causing substantial damage, was not registered to him but to an acquaintance of his who lives in South San Jose.

The vehicle contained a box of recently delivered checks, credit cards and a driver's license in the name of Carter's former roommate at a rehabilitation house in San Jose, Pugh said. The roommate was a burglary victim in June and did not know how Carter acquired the items.

The credit cards, which were not accounts opened by the former roommate, showed that recent purchases had been made, Pugh said. A receipt was found in the car from a local electronics store for two brand-new cellular phones that were also found in the car.

Pugh said the electronics store confirmed that a person using the fraudulent name bought both the phones there using the same account.

Carter was arraigned on Oct. 10 for drunken driving and possession of a controlled substance.

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