Man Arrested After Stealing Bag of Recyclables In Palo Alto

PALO ALTO - Police arrested a 24-year-old suspect on Thursday for armed robbery after he allegedly stole a large bag of recyclables from a man sitting on a Palo Alto bench.

Police arrested Kenneth Ray Williams for a single count of felony robbery.

According to Palo Alto police, officers responded to a call of brandishing about 9:43 a.m. on Thursday that had allegedly occurred on Park Boulevard near Cambridge Avenue.

Police officers say they arrived on scene, detained the suspect without incident, and recovered a broken pair of scissors with a three-inch blade from the suspect.

According to investigators, the victim, a man in his sixties, had been sitting on the east side of Peers Park at 1899 Park Boulevard with a rolling cart full of personal belongings nearby.

Police say the man heard a noise, and looked up to see the suspect walking away with one of his large bags full of recyclables that had been on his cart.

The older man told the suspect to stop, according to Palo Alto police, but the suspect pulled what appeared to be a knife out of his pocket, and kept walking southbound on Park Boulevard.

Police say the victim followed the younger man from a distance of about 10 feet until they got near the intersection of Cambridge Avenue, when the suspect abruptly turned around, allegedly pointed the broken scissors at the suspect, and told him to stop following him.

In fear for his safety, police say the victim called them.

Kenneth Ray Williams, a person with no permanent residence address, was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail for a single count of felony robbery.

Police ask anyone with information about this incident to call the 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413.

Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.orgor sent via text message or voice mail to 650-383-8984.

Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the free mobile app, downloadable at bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.

-image via Palo Alto police