Palo Alto Carjacking: Man's Truck Taken By Suspect Pretending To Have Weapon, Police Say

PALO ALTO, CA -- Police in Palo Alto are on the lookout for a man suspected of carjacking a truck Sunday from a man who was stopped at a gas station. At about 11:50 a.m., the unidentified man allegedly pretended to have a weapon and stole the man's pick-up truck, tearing off the gas nozzle and hose as he sped away from the Shell station at 1161 Embarcadero Road, police said.

The victim, who was not injured, called police at 11:55 a.m. to report the incident.

"The investigation revealed that ... (the) suspect walked up to the victim, a man in his 40s, who pumping gas into his black 2012 Dodge Ram pick-up, California license plate 84634F1," police said. "The suspect yelled, 'Give me the car!' while holding his right hand behind his back, as though he was armed with a weapon of some sort. The victim backed away from the suspect, who then hopped into the driver’s seat and drove away westbound on Embarcadero Road ..."

Officers recovered the gas nozzle and hose on Embarcadero Road at Middlefield Road.

The victim later met with a police artist, who produced a sketch of the suspect (above). The victim described the suspect as a "chubby" Latino man in his 20s who was wearing a plain, dark-colored T-shirt and dark jeans.

The victim also provided police with a photo of his truck, which has a white and blue removable magnetic door seal on the passenger side door, police said.

As of 6 p.m. Monday, neither the truck nor the suspect had been located.

Police say there have been no other recent carjackings in Palo Alto, and that detectives are actively working on this case.

Anyone with information about the incident was asked to call the Palo Alto police dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voicemail to 650-383-8984. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the police department's mobile app, which is downloadable at Bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or Bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.