Palo Alto police arrest four suspects in strong-arm robbery, including two juveniles
PALO ALTO (CBS SF/BCN) – Police arrested four people, including two juveniles, hours after they allegedly stole a car at gunpoint in front of a grocery store Saturday night in Palo Alto.
Police found the suspects -- two adults and two juveniles, all males -- in a stolen car not far from the store and within minutes of the crime, police said in a statement issued Wednesday by the Palo Alto Police Department.
Officers responded to a 9:28 p.m. report of the crime at a Safeway market at 2811 Middlefield Road. While enroute to the store, officers found a vehicle -- which matched the description provided by store employees -- driving northbound in the 2400 block of Middlefield Road.
The vehicle had no license plates and the driver initially kept driving as officers attempted a traffic stop, eventually yielding in the 200 block of Page Mill Road.
In the ensuing investigation, police said they determined that the four suspects had entered the store and began putting laundry detergent in their backpacks. When confronted by a store employee, one of the suspects threatened to kill the worker before they left the store, police said.
The worker backed off but took photos of the suspects while others called police.
Officers determined the stolen car had been carjacked in Concord earlier Saturday. Concord police took custody of the two adult suspects and arrested them on suspicion of carjacking and conspiracy.
Palo Alto police arrested the two juveniles -- ages 15 and 17, both of Pittsburg -- on suspicion of robbery and conspiracy.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.