Elderly Man Beaten, Robbed At Palo Alto Train Station; Parolee Arrested
PALO ALTO (CBS SF) -- A parolee was behind bars after allegedly assaulting and robbing an elderly man last week at a Palo Alto train station, police said Tuesday.
On May 21, Palo Alto police dispatchers received a call from man in his 70s at about 1:41 a.m who reported he had just been assaulted and robbed at the downtown train station at 95 Universtiy Ave.
Responding officers arrived but the suspect had fled by that time. The victim told officers he was getting ready to sleep on the train platrom when a stranger approached him and accused him of stealing his cellphone.
The suspect then proceeded to kick the elderly man in the leg and punch him in the head; then he took off his belt and began to hit the victim in the face, police said. The suspect fled on foot after taking the elderly man's backpack, which contained an iPad and blankets.
A witness to the incident and the victim, who was not injured, chased the suspect but they eventually lost sight of him as he ran eastbound on Lytton Avenue, police said.
Less than two hours later, a patrol officer saw a man matching the suspect's description standing outside a 7-Eleven at 401 Waverley Street, about a half-mile away from the train station. When officers went to detain him, he became physically resistant wouldn't comply with officers' demands, police said. The elderly man's backpack was not in his possession.
Officers placed him into custody by force and put him in a restraining device because of his resistive behavior, including threatening to spit on officers and saying he would fight them were he not in handcuffs, police said.
The suspect, identified as 34-year-old Jesse Clay Camper III of Oakland, told officers he was having trouble breathing and paramedics were summoned. Camper was taken to a local hospital and given a medical clearance for incarceration a short time later.
Camper was into the Santa Clara County Main Jail on felony charges of robbery and elder abuse, along with a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest. Police said Camper is on active parole from a prior robbery conviction, and a parole violation hold was placed on him at the direction of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
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.
