Image from article LAH council OKs pursuit of ''solar orchard'' at new town hall
Persistence and community outreach paid off in the case of the Los Altos woman carjacked in East San Jose last month.
San Jose police Feb. 11 arrested the couple who allegedly knocked Carol Commendatore to the ground and stole her Volvo from the parking lot of the East San Jose school where she teaches. Police were unable to release their names because both suspects are juveniles. The male suspect arrested is 17 and his girlfriend is 14, according to police.
Commendatore’s family and 22 volunteers canvassed one of San Jose’s toughest neighborhoods handing out flyers of the suspects door-to-door at more than 800 homes and apartments the week following her attack.
“If no one speaks out and takes action, nothing is going to stop this from happening (again),” said Carol’s son, Joe. During the neighborhood walk, the group collected numerous tips that they handed over to police.
Police said the family’s added pressure on neighbors to come forward with information was a factor in the couple’s arrest. Neighbors began to talk, police told Joe.
In addition, police were able to collect DNA evidence from Commendatore’s stolen purse, which was recovered last week, and to trace calls made from her stolen cell phone.
A family in a different East San Jose neighborhood discovered the purse in their back yard and called Commendatore, Joe said.
Until last week, police had been unable to collect DNA evidence even though they had found the car abandoned a few days after the carjacking near the area where the couple had stolen it.
Someone had washed the car clean of all fingerprints, Joe said.
Police said the suspects live in the neighborhood where the Commendatores handed out flyers.
