A man was robbed on University Avenue near the transit station by three males last night. During the encounter, they attempted to kick the victim. All three ran away and are at large.
On Monday, January 14, 2019, our 24-hour dispatch center received a report of a strong arm robbery that had occurred at 6:30 p.m. The investigation revealed the male victim in his thirties had been walking east in the 00 block of University Avenue towards the transit station when he noticed he was being followed by three young men. The victim stopped to check his email on his phone and let them pass. When he looked up, the three suspects were blocking the sidewalk. One of the suspects slapped the victim’s phone out of his hand, while another attempted to kick him. They grabbed his phone off the ground and ran up the pedestrian ramp towards the northbound train platform. The victim ran after the suspects and searched inside a waiting train, but did not locate the suspects.
The victim describes all three suspects as being black juveniles approximately 16 to 18 years old. One was being described as being 5 feet 10 inches with a thin build. He had short black hair and was wearing a black shirt and gray pants. The victim described the second suspect as being 5 feet 7 inches tall wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with the hood up and dark baggy pants. The victim could not further describe the third suspect other than to say he was 5 feet 7 inches as well.
Our detectives are investigating this robbery. It does not appear to be related to the strong arm robbery that occurred on November 23, 2018 on a bike path near the railroad tracks close to Churchill Avenue and the University Avenue transit station. That case is still under investigation and no suspects have been identified. The news release can be found at https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/civica/press/display.asp?layout=1&Entry=1664.
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.
