Palo Alto police are looking for three people who they said robbed a teenage boy of his phone outside a Taco Bell on East Charleston Road on Sunday afternoon.
Police received a call about the incident just before 3 p.m. Sunday, according to a news release from the Palo Alto Police Department. According to the news release, the three individuals were in a car that had exited the Taco Bell drive-thru and passed by a 17-year-old boy who was holding his phone. The rear passenger in the vehicle reportedly asked the teenager what he was looking at on his phone, prompting him to hold out the phone in the direction of that passenger, a man in his late teens or early 20s.
The passenger then reportedly grabbed the phone out of the teenager's hand and the car sped away, the police said. It was last seen traveling south on Highway 101 after turning on Charleston, according to the police.
The teenager described all three people in the car as being between 18 and 24 years old. The male who grabbed the phone was described as Hispanic, with black hair and brown eyes and wearing a white T-shirt and a black hooded sweatshirt.
The driver of the car, a silver Nissan Altima, was described as a white male with black hair, brown eyes and acne on his face. He reportedly had earrings and was wearing a white T-shirt and a gray hooded sweater.
The teenager said the third person in the car was a Hispanic female with long black hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a white Adidas sweatshirt, according to the news release.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the department's 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent by text message or voicemail to 650-383-8984. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the police's free mobile app, downloadable at bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.
Comments
Leland Manor/Garland Drive
on Feb 26, 2019 at 3:08 pm
on Feb 26, 2019 at 3:08 pm
Could this be related to the robbery that happened at noon the same day, but in Los Altos? That robbery also involved people in a car that sped off later.
Stanford
on Feb 26, 2019 at 4:46 pm
on Feb 26, 2019 at 4:46 pm
Easy marks in Palo Alto because most are rich (lots to steal), but navie.
Midtown
on Feb 26, 2019 at 5:25 pm
on Feb 26, 2019 at 5:25 pm
There are drug dealers frequently hanging out between this Taco Bell and the gas station, toward the gas station.
Could be related?
Palo Verde
on Feb 26, 2019 at 6:12 pm
on Feb 26, 2019 at 6:12 pm
Can I assume Taco Bell's drive-thru video recorders were operating and the vehicle has been identified already?
Greendell/Walnut Grove
on Feb 26, 2019 at 7:34 pm
on Feb 26, 2019 at 7:34 pm
why do most of these crimes fit a certain profile?
the teenager probably should have exercised due diligence & not shown them his cell phone if he was unacquainted with the thieves.
on the other hand, the thieves should not have been preying on a youngster who was simply minding his own business.
it is unfortunate that certain types of individuals are drawn to these kinds of unlawful activities. it speaks poorly of their backgrounds.
Greenmeadow
on Feb 26, 2019 at 11:22 pm
on Feb 26, 2019 at 11:22 pm
The phone was found by another police officer in S.San Francisco, and the thieves were arrested.
Crescent Park
on Feb 27, 2019 at 6:20 am
on Feb 27, 2019 at 6:20 am
Well, let's see, that was Tuesday, and it's Wednesday now .... I expect the
police to be almost ready to pounce on whoever they are ( as our great
police do most of the time ) based on their competence, thoroughness
and the many different video systems all over that area, not to mention
the phone's tracking ability.
If these criminals were actually any good at crime they'd be in Wall St, or
Trump's White House. Soon they will be in jail ... where they will learn a
bit more about being better criminals.
Duveneck/St. Francis
on Feb 27, 2019 at 11:47 am
on Feb 27, 2019 at 11:47 am
I went to the Charleston Road Taco Bell in the middle of the afternoon on Sunday 24 February 2019. While past visits to this restaurant have included hearing other patrons talking loudly on their cell phones or having arguments, I have never endured pan-handling inside the restaurant. I did on this occasion. While trying to mind my own business and eat, I was subjected thereafter by overtly berating comments and physical intimidation by the person to whom I declined to give money. Either the management of this Taco Bell gets its act together to protect its customers who choose to eat in its restaurant or I will refuse to patronize it again.
Palo Verde
on Feb 27, 2019 at 12:12 pm
on Feb 27, 2019 at 12:12 pm
@TBcustomer, is there a 16-digit customer survey code on your receipt? Been decades since I lost my taste for The Bell, but still frequent McD's and generally take a minute or two afterwards responding online to their satisfaction survey and earning a two-for-one coupon code for my next visit. Sketchy characters at their El Camino location, but generally well behaved. For a real adventure, visit the underbelly of San Francisco sometime. Unsure whether the feedback does any good, but must exist for some reason.
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Feb 27, 2019 at 12:57 pm
Registered user
on Feb 27, 2019 at 12:57 pm
Compliments to the victim who appears to have provided good descriptions of the car and the three people in it. Well done. Sorry you had to go through this incident but it looks like you learned a good lesson about not showing your phone to strangers. Glad it was found. And best of all, you weren’t hurt. Still, a lousy thing to go through. Probably not the first time these ruffians have done this sort of thing but maybe someday they’ll learn there’s a better way to live one’s life.
Mountain View
on Feb 27, 2019 at 1:16 pm
on Feb 27, 2019 at 1:16 pm
> I was subjected thereafter by overtly berating comments and physical intimidation by the person to whom I declined to give money.
No berating comments but where I buy gas (a Chevron station in Mountain View), there are always panhandlers walking the islands seeking cash handouts from those buying gas. Management usually tells them to leave but they continue to reappear.
A classic line is, "Hey, can you spare a twenty?" Whatever happened to asking for a buck? Is this a sign of inflation or total arrogance on the part of these freeloaders?
Another classic at the gas station are these women from East India carrying babies & asking for milk money. Oftentimes they work in shifts as I even saw two of them exchange the baby at one time.
This kind of stuff is getting out of hand. And none of these deadbeats offer a service of any kind in return.
If anything, these bums should patronize the really expensive places & play off the guilt trips of the wealthy eating $200 dinners or buying expensive clothes....not the regular folks at Taco Bell & gas stations.
Mountain View
on Feb 27, 2019 at 5:47 pm
on Feb 27, 2019 at 5:47 pm
Con game + laziness + possible substance abuse issues = 99% of the panhandling around here.
Duveneck/St. Francis
on Mar 2, 2019 at 3:06 pm
on Mar 2, 2019 at 3:06 pm
Except that he only sought a simple bowl of rice.
To confirm whether you are being approached by the Buddha's spirit, offer the panhandler some rice (or even a bagel). If he rudely blows you off, you will know that he is not anything near the Buddha.
another community
on Mar 2, 2019 at 6:06 pm
on Mar 2, 2019 at 6:06 pm
> To confirm whether you are being approached by the Buddha's spirit, offer the panhandler some rice (or even a bagel). If he rudely blows you off, you will know that he is not anything near the Buddha.
If at Taco Bell, would a simple bean burrito suffice as a humble offering? I think the Burrito Supreme has meat in it.
Mountain View
on Mar 3, 2019 at 1:03 pm
on Mar 3, 2019 at 1:03 pm
>> Another classic at the gas station are these women from East India carrying babies & asking for milk money. Oftentimes they work in shifts as I even saw two of them exchange the baby at one tim
Small world or simply coincidence...if it's the same woman we both may have seen at Chevron last week, she is now working the MV Presbyterian Church parking exit on Sundays!
Incredible.