2 Daly City Men Arrested, Accused Of Auto Theft: Palo Alto Police

PALO ALTO, CA — Officers caught two suspects as they were trying to flee a Palo Alto parking garage where they had just committed auto burglaries, police said.

Daly City residents, Michael Johnson and Jameson Chirinos Flores, both age 18, were arrested on suspicion of felony auto theft and conspiracy to commit a crime.

The Palo Alto dispatch center received a 9:37 p.m. call last Thursday of an vehicle burglary in progress in the public parking garage located at 445 Bryant Street. The caller reported she had seen two male suspects looking into vehicles, then heard glass breaking and the sound of footsteps running, according to police.

Officers responded right away and detained two adult males trying to exit the garage who matched the description of the suspects. Officers found two vehicles in the garage that had their windows smashed, along with a backpack belonging to the victim of the first vehicle in the garage stairwell.

The victim of the second vehicle located his backpack discarded nearby. A subsequent
investigation by detectives determined the detained suspects were responsible for the auto
burglaries and had both conspired to commit them, police said.

The suspects were booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail.

Palo Alto police warn to never leave valuables behind as well as always lock the doors and roll up the windows. Thieves are known to walk by cars and look inside for valuables left in plain view. They will smash a window or open an unlocked door and then quickly grab your belongings, the department adds. “Hiding” property in a trunk is not a safe practice either, as some thieves will gamble that there are valuables inside and smash a window to push the trunk release to check.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the dispatch center at
650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via textmessage or voicemail to 650-383-8984.