2 arrested following Palo Alto street robbery, including man on parole for prior robbery

PALO ALTO --  Officers arrested two suspects after a woman was robbed while walking on the street in Palo Alto over the weekend, police said Monday.

On Sunday at about 11:38 a.m., a woman in her fifties reported she had just been robbed along the 300 block of Manzanita Avenue, about a block south of Palo Alto High School. According to police, the woman said she had been walking eastbound on the sidewalk when a man approached from the opposite direction. The woman said hello as he approached, but the man then ripped a necklace off her neck and shoved her to the ground, police said.

The woman then took out her cellphone and told her attacker she was going to photograph him, prompting the man to come back toward her. Police said the woman then tossed her phone onto a nearby yard, which the suspect was able to retrieve before running away.

The victim returned home and called police; she declined medical attention for minor injuries to her ankle and shin. Responding officers did not find a suspect in the area. 

According to police, the investigation led officers to the unit block of Redwood Avenue in Redwood City, about five miles north along El Camino Real. At about 1:16 p.m., a Palo Alto police officer located two men in a parked vehicle, one which match the robbery suspect description. A second officer arrived and the two tried to detain the suspect but he ran away, while the second man with him walked away. 

Officers chased the robbery suspect and caught up to him a short time later a block away on Oak Ave, police said. He was detained without incident. The second man returned to the vehicle and police also detained him without incident. Police said officers located the victim's stolen cell phone inside the second man's pocket.

The suspects' vehicle, a silver 2017 Volkswagen Golf, had been reported stolen on Saturday in Berkeley.

The two suspects were identified as Walter Randall Stokes, 28, of Oakland and Melvin Caldwell King, 24, of Antioch. Stokes was booked on charges of robbery, possession of stolen property, resisting arrest and violating parole from a previous robbery conviction. He is also on probation for a prior grand theft conviction in Alameda County.

King was booked on charges of possession of stolen property, being an accessory to a felony, and on an outstanding warrant for fare evasion from the San Bruno Police Department.

Police weren't able to find the victim's stolen necklace, which was described as costume jewelry worth less than $50. The stolen vehicle was returned to its owner after it was processed for evidence.

Palo Alto police asked anyone with information about the incident to call the department at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984 or emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org.