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by Palo Alto Weekly staff
Uploaded: Sun, Aug 28, 2022, 1:00 pm 12
Time to read: about 2 minutes
Two men who allegedly burglarized cars parked in downtown Palo Alto were arrested on Aug. 25, 2022. Embarcadero Media file photo.
Palo Alto police arrested two men Thursday after the pair allegedly burglarized multiple cars in Palo Alto and, when confronted by police in a parking lot, collided with police cars in an attempt to escape. The men were also allegedly found in possession of illegal firearms.
In a statement released Sunday, police said they received a report of a possible auto burglary in progress around 6:30 p.m. at city Parking Lot “H,” located at 530 Cowper St., on Thursday, Aug. 25. The witness said a black Audi A-8 sedan was circling the lot while a passenger would get out and peer into vehicles.
The license plate number on the Audi was associated with a different vehicle, police said.
Officers surrounded the parking lot and trapped the vehicle, at which point the driver of the Audi accelerated and struck an occupied police car twice before colliding with a second police car, the latter of which caused the Audi to hit three parked vehicles.
The driver hit two more parked vehicles before police took both men into custody “without incident,” according to the statement. Officers hit by the suspect’s vehicle complained of pain but declined medical attention.
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Police said they found two loaded firearms in the Audi, both 9mm handguns. One had been illegally modified to be fully automatic and was equipped with a loaded 30-round extended magazine, while the second was semi-automatic and equipped with a loaded 17-round magazine.
Officers also found stolen property from three vehicles that had been burglarized that same day, one that was parked in Parking Lot H; one from Parking Lot D at 351 Hamilton Ave.; and one from the 700 block of High St. In all three incidents, the windows had been smashed and personal belongings — including laptop computers — had been taken, police said.
Both suspects were arrested on suspicion of auto burglary; conspiracy to commit a crime; possession of a loaded firearm with intent to commit a crime; possession of a large-capacity magazine; and carrying a concealed firearm. The driver, a 25-year-old South San Francisco man, also faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a machine gun and carrying a loaded weapon in which he is not the registered owner, police said.
The passenger, a 25-year-old San Francisco man, is facing additional charges for carrying a firearm as a previously convicted felon and for an outstanding warrant out of San Mateo County.
Both cop cars hit during the incident sustained “minor” damage, and all five parked vehicles struck during the altercation were damaged. The stolen belongings were returned to the owners, police said.
Police are still investigating the incident, and anyone with information is asked to call police dispatch at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be sent to [email protected] or send via text or voicemail to 650-383-8984.
Editor’s note: Palo Alto Online’s policy is to withhold the names of those arrested for most crimes until the district attorney has determined there is sufficient evidence to file charges in the case. Read our guidelines.
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by Palo Alto Weekly staff /
Uploaded: Sun, Aug 28, 2022, 1:00 pm
Palo Alto police arrested two men Thursday after the pair allegedly burglarized multiple cars in Palo Alto and, when confronted by police in a parking lot, collided with police cars in an attempt to escape. The men were also allegedly found in possession of illegal firearms.
In a statement released Sunday, police said they received a report of a possible auto burglary in progress around 6:30 p.m. at city Parking Lot “H,” located at 530 Cowper St., on Thursday, Aug. 25. The witness said a black Audi A-8 sedan was circling the lot while a passenger would get out and peer into vehicles.
The license plate number on the Audi was associated with a different vehicle, police said.
Officers surrounded the parking lot and trapped the vehicle, at which point the driver of the Audi accelerated and struck an occupied police car twice before colliding with a second police car, the latter of which caused the Audi to hit three parked vehicles.
The driver hit two more parked vehicles before police took both men into custody “without incident,” according to the statement. Officers hit by the suspect’s vehicle complained of pain but declined medical attention.
Police said they found two loaded firearms in the Audi, both 9mm handguns. One had been illegally modified to be fully automatic and was equipped with a loaded 30-round extended magazine, while the second was semi-automatic and equipped with a loaded 17-round magazine.
Officers also found stolen property from three vehicles that had been burglarized that same day, one that was parked in Parking Lot H; one from Parking Lot D at 351 Hamilton Ave.; and one from the 700 block of High St. In all three incidents, the windows had been smashed and personal belongings — including laptop computers — had been taken, police said.
Both suspects were arrested on suspicion of auto burglary; conspiracy to commit a crime; possession of a loaded firearm with intent to commit a crime; possession of a large-capacity magazine; and carrying a concealed firearm. The driver, a 25-year-old South San Francisco man, also faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a machine gun and carrying a loaded weapon in which he is not the registered owner, police said.
The passenger, a 25-year-old San Francisco man, is facing additional charges for carrying a firearm as a previously convicted felon and for an outstanding warrant out of San Mateo County.
Both cop cars hit during the incident sustained “minor” damage, and all five parked vehicles struck during the altercation were damaged. The stolen belongings were returned to the owners, police said.
Police are still investigating the incident, and anyone with information is asked to call police dispatch at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be sent to [email protected] or send via text or voicemail to 650-383-8984.
Editor’s note: Palo Alto Online’s policy is to withhold the names of those arrested for most crimes until the district attorney has determined there is sufficient evidence to file charges in the case. Read our guidelines.
Palo Alto police arrested two men Thursday after the pair allegedly burglarized multiple cars in Palo Alto and, when confronted by police in a parking lot, collided with police cars in an attempt to escape. The men were also allegedly found in possession of illegal firearms.
In a statement released Sunday, police said they received a report of a possible auto burglary in progress around 6:30 p.m. at city Parking Lot “H,” located at 530 Cowper St., on Thursday, Aug. 25. The witness said a black Audi A-8 sedan was circling the lot while a passenger would get out and peer into vehicles.
The license plate number on the Audi was associated with a different vehicle, police said.
Officers surrounded the parking lot and trapped the vehicle, at which point the driver of the Audi accelerated and struck an occupied police car twice before colliding with a second police car, the latter of which caused the Audi to hit three parked vehicles.
The driver hit two more parked vehicles before police took both men into custody “without incident,” according to the statement. Officers hit by the suspect’s vehicle complained of pain but declined medical attention.
Police said they found two loaded firearms in the Audi, both 9mm handguns. One had been illegally modified to be fully automatic and was equipped with a loaded 30-round extended magazine, while the second was semi-automatic and equipped with a loaded 17-round magazine.
Officers also found stolen property from three vehicles that had been burglarized that same day, one that was parked in Parking Lot H; one from Parking Lot D at 351 Hamilton Ave.; and one from the 700 block of High St. In all three incidents, the windows had been smashed and personal belongings — including laptop computers — had been taken, police said.
Both suspects were arrested on suspicion of auto burglary; conspiracy to commit a crime; possession of a loaded firearm with intent to commit a crime; possession of a large-capacity magazine; and carrying a concealed firearm. The driver, a 25-year-old South San Francisco man, also faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a machine gun and carrying a loaded weapon in which he is not the registered owner, police said.
The passenger, a 25-year-old San Francisco man, is facing additional charges for carrying a firearm as a previously convicted felon and for an outstanding warrant out of San Mateo County.
Both cop cars hit during the incident sustained “minor” damage, and all five parked vehicles struck during the altercation were damaged. The stolen belongings were returned to the owners, police said.
Police are still investigating the incident, and anyone with information is asked to call police dispatch at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be sent to [email protected] or send via text or voicemail to 650-383-8984.
Editor’s note: Palo Alto Online’s policy is to withhold the names of those arrested for most crimes until the district attorney has determined there is sufficient evidence to file charges in the case. Read our guidelines.
It’s nice to know that Palo Alto has grown enough to have big-city-style “cop cars” instead of just police cars. 🙂
Ah, Mondoman, I miss the old days of the Adam-12 type cruiser. Solid steel. Chrome bumpers. Park a couple of those at a parking lot exit, and it’s best to get out and try to outrun the cops, who are now wearing so much armor they can barely walk.
[Post removed.]
@John
Perhaps the cautionary tales of places like Portland and Seattle had an impact here?
Excellent job by the PAPD in this case, the officers should be commended for their commitment to public safety. We can only imagine what heinous crimes these criminals were planning to commit. The message to criminals is clear – come to Palo Alto to commit crimes and you will leave in handcuffs.
So the driver decided to make a bad stop worse by adding assault with a deadly weapon (his car?) Really smart move on his part. And best of all, they won’t be tried in SF or San Mateo Counties.
Thank you, PAPD. Let’s hope that these criminals are not released on bail any time soon.
To catch/arrest more thieves and to discourage others from doing so, a number of cars could be baited with laptops, iPhones, and/or jewelry and then monitored via electronic or visual surveillance.
Wouldn’t common sense dictate not to leave valuables inside the car where they are highly visible to potential thieves?
@Carolyn Petrovsky
Common sense is a subject that cannot be taught in school.
You either have it or you don’t.
Major props to PAPD for their swift response, taking on a major nuisance in Palo Alto. I have seen smashed windows a number of times on University, California and Stanford shopping center. To hear that the heisters had stolen laptops, courier packages, and other valuables is disheartening. The return of these personal items is a great start to our week.
The pistol modifications, among other details definitely can be correlated to organized local crime. Hopefully additional information can assist with the investigation. Props again to PAPD for stopping what otherwise could have been another untraceable burglary or ecm rush.
It is not worth risking one’s life to protect personal possessions like laptop computers, cellphones, and jewelry.
That is the job of the police.
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