Walnut Creek Man Accused In Hate Crime, Assault In Palo Alto: Police

PALO ALTO, CA — A Walnut Creek man was arrested Friday morning in downtown Palo Alto after two separate incidents where he is accused of approaching men seated in their cars and committing crimes against them, Palo Alto police said in a news release.

In the first incident, the Palo Alto Police Department received a call around 9:30 a.m. Friday about a man possibly brandishing a knife near the 200 block of University Avenue. The victim, a man in his 40s originally from Azerbaijan, also said the suspect told him, “Go back to your country.”

Officers responded and located the suspect — later identified as 35-year-old Ambrose Jamari Ochola of Walnut Creek — in the 500 block of Emerson Street.

Ochola ran from officers but apprehended him a short distance away in Lytton Plaza. He was arrested after a brief struggle. Neither Ochola nor any officers were injured, police said.

The investigation revealed the victim was sitting in his car parked in the 400 block of Emerson Street when the suspect — later confirmed to be Ochola — parked his white 2017 GMC van in front of him. The victim, who did not know Ochola and had no prior interactions with him, said Ochola got out of his van, approached his car and started banging on his driver’s side window with a black object that appeared to be a pocketknife.

Ochola accused the victim of following him and yelled at him: “Go back to your country,” “We don’t want to see you here,” and “Leave our country,” the victim told police.

The victim said when he started to roll down his window to ask Ochola what his problem with him was, Ochola spat in his face.

At that point, the victim drove a block south and parked to get away from Ochola. But Ochola got back into his van and followed him and that is when the victim decided to call police.

Officers searched Ochola’s van and found brass knuckles wrapped in black electrical tape inside the driver’s door. No knife was found but the brass knuckles had the appearance of a folded pocketknife, and police believe the knuckles were what Ochola used when he banged on the victim’s window.

As the first case was unfolding, another victim called police and said the same suspect recently approached him while he was sitting in his car near the intersection of Lytton Avenue and Ramona Street.

The second victim, a man in his 30s, also did not know Ochola and had no prior interactions with him, police said.

The victim said Ochola asked him to roll down his window, accused him of following him, and asked him to step out of his car. When the victim refused, Ochola tried to punch the victim through the half-open window of the car but missed, police said. Ochola then swung his hands down and broke the side view mirror of the victim’s car, according to police.

There was not a hate crime component in the second incident, police noted.

Police booked Ochola into the Santa Clara County Main Jail on suspicion of one felony for possession of an illegal weapon and five misdemeanors for hate crime, battery, resisting arrest, assault and vandalism.