Man Arrested at Garlic Festival Found in Possession of Cocaine

This past weekend’s Gilroy Garlic Festival was full of flaming cook-offs, saucy garlic pageants, and a few arrests for drug possession and public intoxication. Below are a couple of the highlight cases.

On Saturday, Police spotted Joaquin Gabriel, 28, smoking marijuana at the Garlic Festival. They approached him at 6:30 p.m., and discovered he had a warrant out for his arrest, said Gilroy Police Spokesman Chad Gallacinao.

During his booking proceeding, police also found seven grams of cocaine on his possession. Gabriel has since posted bail to appear in court at a later date.

At the festival parking along Miller Ave. and Uvas Park Drive, police also responded to a report of a stabbing around 5:30 p.m. on Saturday. They found an intoxicated subject bleeding from his right hand. He resisted police until more came to assist.

“He was being uncooperative and aggressive, so we called for assistance,” said Gallacinao

The stabbing report was unfounded, and the bleeding came from an injury earlier in the day, he added. Yet police arrested the man, whose name is not being released, for being drunk in public.

This year there were no arrests made for fighting or assault, said Gallacinao, pointing out that most years report at least a few.

These crimes, and others throughout the weekend, are listed in the most recent  press report. The police department releases regular reports describing incidents within the city.

Click on the PDF for the most recent update, from Monday through Thursday.