Originally published as a City of Palo Alto press release:
“Palo Alto, CA – Police arrested two juveniles yesterday for strong-arm robbery after one of them punched the juvenile victim multiple times and then stole his cell phone. The victim sustained minor injuries.
On Tuesday, May 24, 2022, at about 4:19 p.m., our 24-hour dispatch center received a call of a robbery that just occurred in the 600 block of Georgia Avenue. The caller, a passerby, had witnessed a suspect punch the victim and flee in a vehicle driven by a second suspect. Police responded immediately but did not locate the suspects.
The investigation revealed that the victim, a high school-aged juvenile male, had been sitting on a utility box. He had noticed a blue Toyota Corolla parked across the street but had not recognized the person in the driver’s seat. A few minutes later, he heard someone call his first name. When he looked up, the suspect punched him several times in the face and head, causing him to fall off the electrical box and drop his cell phone. The suspect picked up the cell phone and ran to the blue Corolla, which the victim noted had been driven up to their location during the assault. The suspect got into the car, which then fled eastbound on Georgia Avenue. The victim knew the suspect from prior contacts and interactions. The victim sustained visible bruising and abrasions to his face and head. He declined medical attention at the scene.
An alert adult passerby observed the robbery and saw the suspect punch the victim multiple times without provocation. The passerby ran to help the victim as the suspect fled in the vehicle. The passerby had the presence of mind to take photographs of the suspect vehicle as it drove away, and he then called the police.
Officers conducted follow-up investigation into the identity of the known suspect, and at about 6:10 p.m., located the suspect vehicle, a blue 2006 Toyota Corolla, in City Parking Lot “E” at 642 Gilman Street. Police found the two suspects next to it and detained them without incident. Officers located the victim’s stolen cell phone inside the vehicle.
Police arrested the two 17-year-old male suspects for robbery and conspiracy (both felonies) and transported them to the Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall. The suspect who struck the victim lives in East Palo Alto; the suspect who drove the getaway car lives in Mountain View. In accordance with our standard release of information procedures, no additional information on the suspects is available since they are under the age of 18. We do not release booking photographs of juveniles in such situations.
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 paloalto[AT]tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.”
