The victim of the strong arm robbery that occurred along a bike path south of downtown Palo Alto on Friday, November 23 was able to give enough information for a police artist to produce a suspect sketch. Please see the attached news release below which includes an updated description of the primary suspect.
Three suspects robbed a man who had been walking along a bike path south of downtown Palo Alto Friday night. The suspects are at large.
On Friday, November 23, 2018, at 8:14 p.m., our 24-hour dispatch center received a report of a robbery that had just occurred on the bike path that parallels the railroad tracks between Churchill Avenue and the University Avenue transit center. The investigation revealed that the male victim in his twenties had been walking southbound on the path and was texting on his iPhone. When he was just north of Encina Avenue, three men approached him. One of the suspects knocked the victim to the ground and repeatedly punched him in the face. The suspects yelled at the victim to give them his phone and AirPods. They stole the items and ran northbound on the bike path towards downtown.
An employee from a nearby business heard the victim yelling and found him on the path with a bloodied face. The employee called 9-1-1 and officers arrived and conducted a search of the area. A canine from the Mountain View Police Department aided in the search, but police could not locate the suspects. Paramedics from the Palo Alto Fire Department transported the victim to a local hospital, where he received treatment for lacerations and swelling to his face and was later released.
The victim described the primary suspect as a white or Hispanic male in his mid-twenties, around 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing around 225 pounds. The other two suspects are described as Hispanic males in their twenties, both around 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing 180 pounds. The victim stated that the primary suspect was the only one who physically attacked him. The victim met with a police artist who produced a suspect sketch. It is attached to this news release. Detectives are actively investigating this case.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call our 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to [email protected] or sent via text message or voice mail to 650-383-8984. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through our free mobile app, downloadable at www.bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or www.bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.
