Peninsula Burglar Nabbed After Victim Spots Him Entering Yard

SAN FRANCISCO BAY PENINSULA -- A Palo Alto man has been arrested for residential burglary thanks to a timely call from a resident who watched the suspect enter her home’s side yard.

The scenario unfolded around 2:30 pm on Thursday, Feb. 9 after Palo Alto Police received a call from a resident in the 200 block of Colorado Avenue. The resident, a woman in her 30s, reported that she had been inside her home when she saw a stranger enter her unlocked side yard gate.

The caller immediately left her house, got into her car, backed out of the driveway, and called 9-1-1. While she was on the line with dispatchers, she was able to look through a window of her home and see that the suspect had somehow gotten inside. Police say the suspect likely didn't know the victim had been home at the time of the crime.

Officers who responded to the scene say they witnessed the suspect exiting the front door of the home holding some of the victim’s property in one hand, and a broomstick in the other. The suspect ignored repeated police commands and waved the broomstick at officers as an improvised weapon.

One officer deployed a taser, which police say had no apparent effect on the suspect. Officers then tackled him and took the suspect into custody.

Neither the suspect nor any officers were reported to be injured during the arrest, but authorities say the suspect displayed multiple signs of being under the influence of narcotics. Palo Alto Fire Department paramedics took the suspect to a local hospital as a precaution, which the PAPD says is consistent with its standard procedures following use of a taser.

An investigation revealed that the suspect had used a heavy lawn ornament in the victim’s backyard to break a window and get into the home; he then allegedly stole the victim’s purse before leaving out the front door and being confronted by officers.

The suspect, 20-year-old Trung Quang Daole of Palo Alto (photo above), has been booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail for felony residential burglary, misdemeanor resisting arrest, and being under the influence of narcotics, also a misdemeanor.

Detectives say they're investigating to see if the suspect may be linked to any other residential burglaries in Palo Alto or surrounding communities.

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 the PAPD's free mobile app, downloadable at www.bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or www.bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.

Image via Palo Alto Police