16-Year-Old Driving Stolen Car Arrested In East Palo Alto, Linked To Robbery the Night Before
PALO ALTO (CBS SF) -- A 16-year-old who was behind the wheel of a stolen car chased by police from Palo Alto into East Palo Alto is also suspected of a strong armed robbery the night before, police said Monday.
Palo Alto police said on Saturday night just before midnight, the teenager was driving a gray 2008 BMW 320i which had been carjacked at gunpoint on Friday. The car was going at a high rate of speed along East Bayshore Road south of Embarcadero road in Palo Alto when officers tried to pull him over.
Instead the car took off, leading officers on a chase northbound on East Bayshore Road, stopping on Clarke Ave. in East Palo Alto where the teen driver and four other occupants got out and fled on foot. While the four passengers ran eastbound into East Palo Alto and eluded capture, the driver began running westbound over the pedestrian bridge and was chased down by a police K-9, police said.
The teenager was treated for bite wounds, and an officer at the scene recognized him as matching the description of the suspect in a strong-arm robbery in Palo Alto the night before. A woman in her 40s told police that as she walked up to the front door of her house a man yanked her clutch purse out of her hand and fled on foot.
The investigation revealed that a credit card belonging to the robbery victim had been used shortly after the crime at the Shell gas station on University Avenue in East Palo Alto. Surveillance footage showed the suspect using the card and he matched the description given by the robbery victim.
After the arrest of the suspect following the vehicle chase, police confirmed he was the same suspect in the strong-arm robbery.
The unidentified suspect was taken to Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall and booked him on charges of possession of a stolen vehicle, felony evading, resisting arrest, and robbery.
Anyone with information about the incident was asked to call Palo Alto Police 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.
