Man Arrested After Clumsy Attempt To Steal Car From Driveway

Police arrested a Mountain View man early Saturday morning after he allegedly tried to steal a car from a driveway in Palo Alto and repeatedly backed into another car before fleeing.

At about 6:45 a.m., police received a 911 call from a resident in the 2500 block of Emerson Street near Seale Avenue reporting an auto burglary in-progress. Officers responded to the scene and located the suspect, identified as 20-year-old Alex Guevara, of Mountain View, hiding in a nearby yard, according to police.

Officers said a couple in their 50s heard the sound of squealing tires coming from their driveway, looked outside and saw someone in the driver's seat of their car, a 2000 Acura sedan.

Police said Guevara attempted to back the car out of the driveway past the couple's other car, a 1999 BMW sedan, but repeatedly crashed into the other car as he attempted to force his way out of the driveway.

Guevara abandoned the car and fled on foot, heading south on Emerson Street while carrying a bag, police said. Police said the Acura had been left unlocked and the suspect had found a spare key hidden inside the car.

Both vehicles sustained minor damage.

Officers, with the assistance of a police dog, tracked Guevara through several yards into the 2600 block of Emerson Street and located him in the back yard of a home, according to police.

Police also located a bag of unidentified property in the bushes near the sidewalk.

Police booked Guevara into the Santa Clara County Main Jail for felony vehicle theft, felony vandalism, misdemeanor prowling and probation violation, according to officers.

Guevara is on active probation in Santa Clara County for possession of marijuana for sale, possession of concentrated cannabis and possession of a weapon on a school campus.

A resident in the 2600 block of Emerson Street later contacted police to report that their video surveillance system captured the suspect walking down the street earlier that morning looking into parked and unoccupied cars, police said. The surveillance footage showed the suspect entering an unlocked vehicle and rummaging around inside.

It also showed the suspect hiding a bag in a bush next to the sidewalk, police said. Officers contacted the owner of that vehicle and returned an MP3 player that was missing from her car.

She told police that she had likely left the vehicle unlocked. Police said the remaining contents of the bag are small items without obvious substantial monetary value.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Palo Alto police at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.

Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the department's free mobile app, downloadable at bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.

--Bay City News