Palo Alto robberies lead to arrest of armed 16-year-old boy

Police arrested a 16-year-old boy in possession of a loaded gun Monday night after he fled the scene of a robbery near a Palo Alto shopping center, while a second suspect remains at large.

Police responded to a 9:05 p.m. report Monday from a man in his 50s who said he had just been accosted by two men while he was walking on a path between the Cubberley Community Center athletic fields and the Charleston Shopping Center in the 3900 block of Middlefield Road. Police said one of the suspects threatened to shoot the victim and his dog, although the victim saw no gun.

Police responded to the scene and found two more victims — an adult in his teens and a boy — in the parking lot behind the community center. Both told police they had just been robbed and that one of the suspects had threatened to shoot them if they did not hand over their wallets.

These victims also did not see the suspects display a gun.

Officers found two suspects along a fence line of Mitchell Park and one of the suspects fled northbound into the fields. Officers apprehended one of the suspects but the other eluded capture.

The suspect apprehended is a 16-year-old San Mateo boy who police said had a loaded, unregistered 9mm handgun in his sweatshirt pocket. Police said the boy also had in his possession a loaded magazine for the handgun, an unsheathed 6-inch, fixed-blade knife and illegal drugs, including marijuana packaged for sale, LSD and psilocybin-infused edibles.

Police arrested him on suspicion of several felonies and misdemeanors, including possession of an unregistered concealed and loaded firearm, possession of marijuana for sales, possession of psilocybin and LSD, possession of a concealed dirk/dagger and resisting arrest, for fleeing when contacted by police.

Palo Alto police are searching for the other suspect, whom they believe is the one who threatened the victims. They described him as between the ages of 16 and 22, tall and slender, with light-colored hair and of unknown race. He was wearing dark-colored clothing and a blue surgical-style face covering.

Police encourage anyone with information about this incident to call the 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.