15-Year-Olds Arrested for Strong-Arm Robbery Suspected in Similar Crimes
PALO ALTO — Three 15-year-old juveniles arrested for strong-arm robbery are suspected of committing similar crimes. They allegedly stole a man’s phone on January 28th and assaulted him when he resisted.
The victim is a man in his 20s who was walking through downtown in the middle of the day. Police received a report of a robbery occurring on Lytton Avenue at 12:34 p.m.
The man was walking eastbound when he passed three children out riding bicycles, instead of attending school. One child distracted the man by tapping him on the shoulder, and then another child grabbed his phone.
All three children began riding away, but the victim tackled the child who stole his phone. At that point, one of the other children punched the victim in his face, demanding that he hand over his headphones.
A brief scuffle ended when the victim’s co-worker intervened, and all three thieves rode away on bikes. The victim was not injured, and the suspects fled southward riding on Tasso Street.
About 40 minutes later, three juveniles matching the descriptions of the young hoodlums were detained on Edgewood Drive. The victim’s phone was located inside of the children’s backpacks, and it was return to him.
All three kids were arrested and booked into Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall for felony robbery. Two of the suspect are from East Palo Alto and the third is a resident of Menlo Park.
Meanwhile, detectives are investigating whether these three are responsible for committing similar crimes. Anyone with information about this incident can call 650-329-2413 or text 650-383-8984.
