Palo Alto police arrested a 14-year-old boy Wednesday (Dec. 29) who they say robbed another boy of his cell phone on Park Boulevard and committed a similar crime in July.

The boy, a Palo Alto resident whose name is not being released because he is a juvenile, allegedly walked up to the victim, also 14, while the victim was sending a text message on his cell phone in the 2300 block of Park Boulevard at about 1:45 p.m. He demanded the phone. When the victim refused, he grabbed the phone from the victim's hand and ran off, police said.

The victim and a witness allegedly chased the boy for a short while and described him to officers at a Hispanic male, about 14 years old, in a gray hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans and a white shirt draped around his neck. Shortly after that, an officer saw a teenager matching the description walking near the California Avenue Caltrain station.

While the officer was talking to the boy, another officer drove the victim to the interview site. The victim identified the boy as the person who robbed him. Police arrested the suspect and, after looking through his possessions, found the victim's cell phone.

Police later interviewed the suspect and identified him as the person who also stole an iPod and cash from another juvenile victim on July 10.