Police arrested two suspects responsible for an armed robbery that occurred at the Safeway store in the Midtown neighborhood of Palo Alto in January.
On Friday, January 10, 2020, at around 12:41 a.m., our 24-hour dispatch center received a report of a robbery in progress in the Safeway store located at 2811 Middlefield Road. The preliminary investigation revealed that three male suspects entered the store. One brandished a handgun and ordered a male employee to the ground. A second suspect broke the glass door of the pharmacy, entered, and stole prescription drugs. A third suspect acted as a lookout and ran out of the store with the other suspects after the robbery. They fled in a pickup truck. To read the original press release, click https://www.cityofpaloalto.org/civica/press/display.asp?layout=1&Entry=1757.
Police released surveillance images of all three suspects to the media and the public. Detectives received a tip that helped them identify two of the suspects as well as the suspect vehicle. On February 13, detectives obtained arrest warrants for the two suspects for one count of felony robbery and began searching for both suspects.
The suspect who pointed the gun at the Safeway employee is 22-year-old Erick Eulogio Perez. He does not have a permanent known address. During the investigation, detectives discovered Perez had been arrested for possession of a stolen vehicle and booked into the Kern County Jail. On February 16, our arrest warrant was served on Perez while he was in custody. He will be transferred to the San Jose Main Jail once his case is resolved in Kern County.
The suspect who acted as the lookout in the robbery is 18-year-old Anthony Nicolas Alcantara-Medina of East Palo Alto. East Palo Alto police arrested Medina at a residence in the 1000 block of Ruth Court on February 24. He is currently in custody at the San Mateo County Main Jail on our arrest warrant and failure to appear warrant related to a robbery and carjacking case in East Palo Alto. Both Alcantara-Medina and Perez’s booking photos are attached to this news release.
Detectives continue to actively investigate this case. The third suspect remains unidentified and at large. His photograph taken from surveillance images is attached to this news release.
The non-profit charitable organization Mothers Against Murder has paid a partial reward to the tipster who helped detectives identify the two arrested suspects (realizing that a third suspect remains unidentified and outstanding; the balance of the reward remains for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the third suspect). Mothers Against Murder does not release details on the amount paid or the identity of the tipster who received the reward, out of an abundance of concern for their privacy and to protect their anonymity.
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.
