Palo Alto Burglar Halted After 90 Minute Chase

PALO ALTO – Police say they arrested a man for residential burglary Thursday morning after a housecleaner observed him breaking into an occupied home. After running from police and eluding capture for almost 90 minutes, officers located him hiding under a mobile home and took him into custody without further incident.

About 9:41 a.m., the Palo Alto Police dispatch center received a call from a resident in the 2000 block of Edgewood Drive reporting a residential burglary in progress. A housecleaner inside the house saw a man climbing into an open window from the backyard. She yelled and told the homeowner, a man in his forties, who went into the backyard to investigate. He found the suspect hiding in his backyard.

Upon being seen, the suspect immediately ran away, hopped a fence, and fled. The homeowner called police, and officers responded to the area. The suspect did not take any property from the home, since the housecleaner interrupted the burglary.

Eight minutes later, an officer spotted the suspect walking on Woodland Avenue at West Bayshore Road in East Palo Alto. When the officer attempted to stop him, the suspect fled on foot. The officer gave chase, and followed him until he disappeared in the area of a mobile home park in the 1800 block of Woodland Avenue in East Palo Alto. Witnesses reported seeing the suspect climbing fences in the area in an attempt to escape.

Joined with officers from the East Palo Alto Police Department, an extensive search of the area was conducted. A little after 11:00 a.m., officers located the suspect hiding underneath a home in the mobile home park and took him into custody without incident.

Police booked 19-year-old East Palo Alto resident Daniel Marteese Williams into the Santa Clara County Main Jail for felony residential burglary and resisting arrest.

Detectives are investigating to see if Williams may be connected to any other residential burglaries in Palo Alto and surrounding communities.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the 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 bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.

-image via Palo Alto PD