The Mystery of the Stolen Birds And More from the Union City Police

The following is a summary of significant crime and incidents reported in Union City between June 6 and June 11 as released by the Union City Police Department. Reports have been lightly edited for Patch style.

Exotic Bird Theft Has Happy Ending 

On Thursday June 6 at 8:20 a.m., Officer Geldermann was dispatched to investigate the theft of two exotic birds from an address on 7th Street. Officer Geldermann learned the stolen birds belonged to the victim’s daughters, ages 5 and 7. Luckily the victim had a video surveillance system installed at her residence. Officer Geldermann was able to review the security video and identify the responsible suspect. Officer Geldermann recognized suspect Victor Gonzalez on the security video. The suspect is a 26-year-old transient male who lives in the area.

After identifying the suspect, Officer Gelderman began searching the streets for the bird thief. Officer Geldermann later located the suspect standing in front of an address on F Street. The suspect admitted to stealing the family pets and he provided information on where the birds could be located. Officer Geldermann recovered the stolen birds at an address on 6th Street. The birds were returned to their very happy young owners.

Suspects Play the “Name Game,” Go Directly to Jail

On Monday June 10 at 1:41 p.m., Officer Silva was conducting traffic enforcement on Medallion Drive. Officer Silva stopped a speeding vehicle and contacted the three occupants. The driver did not have a driver’s license and the vehicle smelled of marijuana. To make matters worse, the occupants started playing what we call the “name game.” The “name game” is the process of providing false names and information to the police, in an attempt to avoid arrest or identification. During the investigation officers located two 9 mm semiautomatic firearms in the vehicle. Both firearms were fully loaded with rounds in the chambers. At this point the game was over and all the occupants ended up going to jail.

Fatal Collision on Horner Street

On Tuesday June 11 at 11:30 a.m., officers responded to a major injury collision on Horner Street. The involved vehicle drove through a cyclone fence and collided with a street lamp. The driver of the vehicle was pronounced deceased at the scene of the collision. The Traffic Unit is investigating the collision. Anyone with information regarding this collision is asked to contact Traffic Officer Mike Silva at (510) 675-5292.