Crime & Safety
Man Punched, Robbed Downtown; Two Teen Suspects Arrested
A third accomplice remains at large in the Hamilton Avenue crime.
Police arrested two 16-year-olds from East Palo Alto for allegedly attacking and robbing a pedestrian in Palo Alto last night, stealing his cell phone and credit cards, according to the Palo Alto Police Department.
A third accomplice fled on foot during the arrest and remains at large, police said.
The victim, a man in his 30s, went to the police station at 11:43 p.m. last night and told officers that a few minutes prior as he was walking westbound on the 400 block of Hamilton Avenue, an unknown person jumped on his back, knocking him to the ground.
He said he was then surrounded by three males who punched him in the face, possibly kicked him, and demanded his property while threatening to stab him, although he never saw a knife, according to reports.
The victim, who sustained minor injuries to his face and feet, complied, turning over his credit cards and his cell phone, and the three muggers left on foot, walking eastbound on Hamilton, police said.
Officers responding to the area were unable to locate the suspects, and the dispatch center notified surrounding agencies of the crime and suspects.
At 12:20 a.m., an officer from the Menlo Park Police Department, who had heard the earlier radio broadcast of the robbery, saw three individuals matching the suspects' descriptions at the intersection of Manhattan Avenue and O’Connor Street in East Palo Alto, police said.
When the officer went to stop the trio, one fled on foot. The other two were found with the victim's property, and were arrested and transported to the Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall.
No kinfe was found, police said.
The suspect at-large is described as a black male, about 5 feet 11 inches with a medium build, and wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt, reports state.
Detectives do not believe these two suspects are connected to any other robberies in Palo Alto, including a Sept. 28 strong-arm robbery on Middlefield Road.
Anyone with information about this robbery can contact the department's 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.
