Police arrested a juvenile suspect for robbing two pedestrians within 18 minutes from each other on Tuesday afternoon. Police located the suspect approximately a mile and a half away based on the description given by the victims. A short foot pursuit ensued and officers captured the suspect in East Palo Alto. He is in custody at the Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall in San Jose.
On Tuesday, December 17, 2019 at around 12:38 p.m., our 24-hour dispatch center received a report of a strong-arm robbery that just occurred at Hamilton Avenue near Waverley Street. The preliminary investigation revealed the female victim in her thirties was walking westbound on Hamilton Avenue when she was shoved from behind and her phone was stolen out of her hand. The victim saw two males on foot running southbound on Waverley Street. Her co-worker witnessed the robbery and called 9-1-1 to report the robbery. The victim was uninjured.
While officers searched the area for the suspects, our 24-hour dispatch received another report of a strong-arm robbery at 12:54 p.m. that occurred in the area of Webster Street and Channing Avenue The investigation revealed the female victim in her fifties was walking on Channing Avenue when she was approached by two males. One of the males asked her to use her phone, but she declined. He persisted and then pushed the victim to the ground and stole her phone. The suspect then ran eastbound on Channing Avenue. Officers spotted the suspects riding bicycles on Newell Road and Edgewood Drive based on the description given by the victims. Police ordered them to stop but one suspect fled southbound on Edgewood Drive, while the other suspect dismounted his bicycle and ran northbound on Newell Road. Soon after the suspect stopped running and police took him into custody without incident in the 00 block of Newell Road in East Palo Alto. Police recovered both of the stolen phones from the suspect and returned them to the victims. The second victim suffered minor injuries and declined medical attention.
Detectives are actively investigating this case. At this time, police believe the second male seen with the suspect did not commit the robbery and is not considered a suspect at large. Detectives are working to determine if these robberies are related to recent similar strong-arm robberies that occurred December 11 https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/civica/press/display.asp?layout=1&Entry=1749 and November 2 https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/civica/press/display.asp?layout=1&Entry=1742.
Police booked the 16-year-old suspect who is from East Palo Alto into the Santa Clara County Juvenile Probation Center in San Jose for two counts of strong-arm robbery (felony) and one count of resisting arrest (misdemeanor). He was also booked for an outstanding warrant for a probation violation out of San Mateo County. He is on juvenile probation for assault and battery. His booking photo will not be released because he is a juvenile.
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 voicemail 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.
