Mountain View Man Arrested After Allegedly Threatening To Kill Victim In Palo Alto Parking Garage

A man carrying a small knife was arrested late Sunday in Palo Alto after allegedly using a racial epithet against a black man and threatening to kill him inside a parking garage, police said today.

Tony Smith, 61, of Mountain View, was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail on suspicion of felony criminal threats and a hate crime and misdemeanor possession of methamphetamine, police said.

The victim phoned police at 11:47 p.m. from a business in the 500 block of Ramona Street to report that a possible carjacking attempt occurred in a parking lot at 539 Emerson St., according to police.

Officers responded to the area and located a suspect standing outside the business, holding a knife with a 2-inch blade in his hand. They arrested the suspect, later identified as Smith, without incident, officers said.

The victim, a black man in his 30s, told officers that he was sitting in his car with the engine running in the Emerson Street lot when a stranger approached and opened the car’s passenger door, police said. The suspect told the man that he had a gun and that the victim was going to die.

The victim did not see a gun but exited the car, with the engine still running, and backed away, according to police. The stranger then used a racial slur and repeated that the victim was going to die.

The victim, who left his cellphone in his car, then went to a business to call police, police said. It appeared that the suspect had followed the man, although he did not attempt to steal the car, police said.

Police recovered a quantity of methamphetamine from Smith’s belongings but he was not carrying a gun, according to police.

Anyone with details about the incident may call the Palo Alto Police Department’s 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413.

--Bay City News

Also on Patch:

• Boy Abducted Outside Fairfield Home Found Safe
• Applying For A Mortgage? That Will Not Tank Your Credit Score
• San Jose Sharks Shake-Ups: Head Coach Is Out
• #JustDrive: Join April 30 Tweet-Up To Stop Distracted Driving
• Take A Stroll Across Santa Cruz County’s Newest National Historical Landmark!

Subscribe via email to Patch Alerts and our Daily Newsletter, and stay in touch with your community and the Patch California regional network. Find your communities of interest in one of the several regions served by Patch in California.

CAMPBELL | CUPERTINO| GILROY| LOS GATOS| LOS ALTOS| MILPITAS| MOUNTAIN VIEW | PALO ALTO| SARATOGA|