Crime & Safety
Man Mugged While Bicycling on Palo Alto Trail Thursday Morning
A 46-year-old homeless man reportedly knocked the cyclist off his bike, assaulted him and stole his cell phone.
The Palo Alto Police Department arrested a 46-year-old transient for suspicion of strong-arm robbery Thursday morning five minutes after he reportedly pulled a passing bicyclist to the ground, assaulted him and stole his cell phone.
A 911 call at 9:39 a.m. reported a fight in progress on the bike trail in the 3500 block of East Bayshore Road, and a witness said the suspect fled southbound on foot, police said.
Within minutes, at 9:44 a.m., an officer stopped a suspect, Roberto Navarro, in the 3800 block of East Bayshore, without incident, police said.
The crime victim, a man in his 50s, said he was bicycling northbound on the bike trail when Navarro, who was walking southbound on the same trail, pulled him from his bike and onto the ground, police said.
Navarro allegedly punched the man in the arms several times, kicked him in the lower body and once in the head, and then stole his cell phone and walked off down the bike trail, police said.
Two passersby came to the victim’s aid, and flagged down a passing motorist for help. The motorist was the 911 caller, and kept the suspect under observation until police arrived, according to the department.
The victim sustained moderate injuries to one foot and abrasions to one hand.
Personnel from the Palo Alto Fire Department treated him at the scene, police said.
Officers reported finding the stolen cell phone in Navarro's possession, and returned it to the victim.
Police booked Navarro, a man with no permanent residence, into the Santa Clara County Main Jail for suspicion of felony robbery, misdemeanor assault and battery.
Detectives do not believe this suspect is connected to any other crimes in Palo Alto, and are investigating to see if he is connected to crimes in any surrounding communities.
Anyone with information about this incident or this suspect is asked to call 24-hour dispatch center 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.
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