A Modesto gymnastics coach pleaded not guilty in Santa Clara County Superior Court last week to charges he molested a 17-year-old gymnast during a meet in San Jose this past summer.

A story in Monday's Bee explained how Salinas is using a military-style intelligence-gathering method to combat its gang violence problem. So you might wonder, with gang violence rampant in the Northern San Joaquin Valley as well, why not bring in the military to establish a similar program here?

In a crime awareness exercise, a small team from Modesto police, the Stanislaus County Auto Theft Task Force and the California Highway Patrol hit the streets about 6 a.m. this morning looking for idling unattended vehicles. Within 90 minutes, the team found 25 unattended vehicles in Modesto.

In its most recent community newsletter, The Turlock Police Department issued a warning about a marked increase in auto burglaries over the past few weeks. Modesto police are seeing the same trend.

A pewter Chevrolet Tahoe was parked in front of a home on Ada Street in late September in east Modesto. In seconds, the sport utility vehicle was gone.

Police arrested seven adults and two minors on various weapons charges early Saturday after officers found two loaded guns at a house party in west Modesto. Modesto police Lt. Scott Blom said officers from the department's party patrol were called shortly after midnight to check on the party at a home in the 100 block of Vine Street, just west of South Washington Street. Blom said the officers arrived and found members of the Sureños street gang at the party. Police gang investigators were called to assist the party patrol in breaking up the party. Police found at least two loaded guns at the home. The officers took the suspects into custody and seized the weapons.

The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department will suspend the academy courses at its regional training center in 2010 to deal with declining revenue streams and a bleak job market in which law enforcement agencies are not hiring.

Six people were arrested on suspicion of auto theft in Stanislaus County from Nov. 7 through Tuesday. The arresting agency on one of the arrests was the Turlock Police Deparment.

When Dasheme Hosley told his brother he had shot their stepfather, there was celebration, according to a detective's testimony Thursday in Stanislaus County Superior Court.

Merced County sheriff's deputies released the names Thursday of four men arrested this week on suspicion of stabbing a Gustine man to death.

Modesto police will be out looking for drivers who aren't wearing a seat belt as part of a statewide effort to reduce injuries in traffic accidents over the holiday season.

Ripon police will send out officers Saturday night to look for drunken drivers as part of an enforcement effort to reduce the number of deaths and injuries caused by alcohol-related crashes.

Police officers Thursday evening were looking for a 3-foot bronze frog statue stolen from an Angels Camp home.

Five people have been arrested in the investigation of a fatal stabbing reported Friday in Gustine.

Authorities on Wednesday released the name of a 27-year-old Livingston woman who died Tuesday afternoon when the sport utility vehicle she was driving overturned on Highway 99 in Modesto.