Peninsula Robbery Attempt On Elderly Probed

PALO ALTO, CA — Authorities are asking for the public’s help locating two suspects in connection with the attempted robbery of an elderly man on Wednesday, the Palo Alto Police Department said.

Officers at around 1:15 p.m. responded to the report of an attempted robbery in a Charleston Shopping Center in the 3900 block of Middlefield Road in which the suspects then tried to back their vehicle into a Good Samaritan who had gone to help the victim.

Neither the victim of the robbery attempt nor the Good Samaritan were physically injured.

The suspects were not able to steal any property from the victim, police said.

The suspects had already fled in a vehicle by the time officers arrived.

The investigation revealed that a female suspect had approached the victim, a male in his 80s sitting in his vehicle, telling him it was her birthday and that she wanted to give him a gift, police said.

The suspect then reached into his car and tried to remove his watch from his wrist, police said.

“The victim fought back and yelled for help, and as a nearby Good Samaritan (a man in his 40’s) witnessed the struggle and went to intervene, the woman left and got into the backseat of a nearby vehicle being driven by a male suspect,” police said.

“As the Good Samaritan tried to take a picture of the vehicle’s license plate, the male suspect backed the car directly at the Good Samaritan, who had to step out of the way to avoid being struck.”

The suspect vehicle left southbound on Middlefield Road.

The suspects are sought for robbery and assault with a deadly weapon (both felonies), police said.

Witnesses described the suspects as being between 25 and 35 years old, possibly of Middle Eastern descent. The female was wearing a long black skirt and a white top; the male had a black V-neck T-shirt and had a full black beard and mustache, police said.

Witnesses described their vehicle as a black newer model Jeep Cherokee with a tinted cover over its rear license plate. The license plate was possibly from Florida.

Three Palo Alto roadside jewelry scam cases where elderly victims were targeted for thefts occurred Oct. 15, 2021, May 16, 2022, and May 24, 2022, police said.

In October 2021 and May 2022 To learn more about those incidents, read the news releases we distributed on October 25, 2021, May 16, 2022, and May 24, 2022. Detectives are investigating to see if there is any connection between the four cases, or any other similar crimes in other cities. At this time, there is no evidence connecting any of the incidents. The three prior cases remain unsolved, with no suspects identified.

Police are recomming that adult children and caregivers of elderly residents discuss these recent incidents with them and “make them aware of the scams.”

Police recommend that you always remain aware of your surroundings and be cautious if approached by a stranger or occupants of an unfamiliar vehicle. Police recommend maintaining a safe distance from any stranger or unfamiliar, unoccupied vehicle.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the PAPD’s 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413, or 9-1-1 if it is an emergency.

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