Attempted Purse Snatcher Flees After Hot Coffee is Thrown in His Face

SOUTH BAY, CA -- Someone who attempted to snatch a woman's purse at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto over the weekend got a lot more than they bargained for when the would-be victim threw a cup of hot coffee in the criminal's face, police say.

The suspect and an accomplice managed to get away on a bicycle and now are at large; police are asking for the public’s help with identifying and tracking them down.

The whole scenario unfolded around 10:20 am on Saturday, Feb. 11 when Palo Alto Police received a call reporting a robbery attempt that had occurred about 30 minutes earlier at the Stanford Shopping Center at 180 El Camino Real. Officers responded to the area, but the two suspects had fled on one bicycle prior to police arrival.

The investigation revealed that the victim, a woman in her 20s, had been walking in the parking lot nearest the corner of El Camino Real and Quarry Road. A pair of suspects rode up to her on a bicycle. Police say the accomplice was pedaling, while the primary suspect was standing on the pegs of the rear wheel with his hands on his partner’s shoulders.

The primary suspect got off of the bicycle and tried to pull the victim’s purse off of her shoulder, but the victim, who was holding a hot cup of coffee she had just bought, threw the coffee at the suspect’s face. In response, police say, the suspect punched her once in the face with his fist, causing the victim to scream, then jumped back onto the rear of the bicycle, and the two departed the scene by riding away toward Quarry Road.

The victim retained all of her property, but sustained a minor injury to her face that she declined medical attention for.

The suspect’s injuries, if any, are unknown.

The victim described the primary suspect as a tall and skinny black male in his twenties, between 6 feet 3 inches and 6 feet 5 inches in height, with a squared-off flat-top haircut. He was wearing a red V-neck cotton T-shirt and black jeans.

The accomplice was described as a while male in his twenties with short brown or black hair and a thin-to-medium build. He was wearing a gray short-sleeved shirt with thin black horizontal stripes on the body and a floral design on the collar and end of the sleeves, as well as blue jeans. The victim could only describe the bicycle on which they were riding as not a small BMX-type.

Police sketches of both suspects can be seen above.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call our 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through our free mobile app, downloadable at www.bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or www.bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.

Images via Palo Alto Police