Suspects Arrested in Downtown Palo Alto Armed Robbery

With the help of video surveillance two men have been arrested 11 days after they allegedly robbed a man at gunpoint, the police announced Tuesday.

Palo Alto Police detectives apprehended Christopher Mailau Vea and Patrick Tupoumalohi—both 20-year-old residents of East Palo Alto—on the 2400 block of University Avenue in East Palo Alto on August 23.

According to the PAPD, on Monday, Aug. 12 at about 10:07 p.m., the suspects pointed a handgun at a male victim in his 20s who walked on the 100 block of Bryant Street.

The suspects then took his wallet, laptop bag and other items from his pockets.

A jogger came to the victim’s aid, and called 911 from his cell phone to summon police and through surveillance video from a local gas station where the suspects used the victim’s stolen credit cards, detectives now had a lead. 

Shortly after the arrests, the Palo Alto Police Department’s Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team and detectives went to the homes of the suspects and executed a search warrant to look for evidence of the robbery.

According to police, in the search detectives found three realistic-looking black BB guns that had the orange safety tips colored black.

Police booked both suspects at the Santa Clara County Main Jail for one count of robbery, a felony.

Police also booked Vea for a felony probation violation. Vea is on active probation in San Mateo County stemming from a 2011 conviction for first-degree burglary.

Detectives do not believe that Vea or Tupoumalohi have any connection to the armed robbery of a man with his young child that occurred at Robles Park on August 15.