East Palo Alto Boy, 16, Accused Of 2 Strong-Arm Robberies

PALO ALTO, CA — A 16-year-old boy is accused of robbing two Palo Alto pedestrians in a span of just 18 minutes on Tuesday, police said.

Police responded around 12:38 p.m. Tuesday to a reported strong-arm robbery that had occurred on Hamilton Avenue near Waverley Street. A woman in her thirties walking on Hamilton was shoved from behind and had her phone stolen out of her hand, according to police. She saw two males running south on Waverley, and her co-worker called 911 to report the robbery, according to police.

While police were investigating, they received a second report around 12:54 p.m. of a strong-arm robbery near Webster Street and Channing Avenue. A woman in her fifties said she was approached by two males, one of whom asked to use her phone. She declined, but he eventually pushed her to the ground and stole her phone before running east on Channing, according to police.

Based on victims' descriptions, police saw the suspects riding bicycles on Newell Road and Edgewood Drive. One fled south on Edgewood while the other began running north on Newell, but later stopped and was arrested, according to police.

The suspect, who lives in East Palo Alto, was booked into the Santa Clara County Juvenile Probation Center on suspicion of strong-arm robbery and resisting arrest, as well as an outstanding warrant for a probation violation out of San Mateo County.

The second male seen with the suspect did not commit the robbery and isn't considered a suspect, police said. Police are investigating whether these incidents are related to similar robberies reported on Dec. 11 and Nov. 2.

Police recovered both of the stolen phones and returned them to the victims. One of the victims suffered minor injures but declined medical attention, police said.