​Palo Alto Overnight Crime Spree Probed

PALO ALTO, CA — Two homes were burglarized and a vehicle was stolen amid a rare overnight crime spree in a Palo Alto neighborhood this week that police believe involve the same suspects.

The incidents occurred within close proximity to each other hours apart according to time-stamped surveillance video footage, police said.

Still images taken from video surveillance footage show a unique mark or tattoo on the right side of the neck of one of the suspects.

In the first incident, two suspects forced entry into the garage of a home in the 700 block of Gailen Ave. at about 2:42 a.m.

The suspects stole two bicycles from the home; a men’s black Gary Fischer Marlin mountain bike and a women’s black and teal Marin Kentfield CS1 bike.

The suspects did not make entry into the residential portion of the home.

The victims, a couple in their thirties, were asleep at the time of the incident and weren’t aware their home had been burglarized until the next morning, police said.

A review of video surveillance footage from a neighbor’s home captured a male with a flashlight prowling in a yard after entering through an unlocked side gate at about 2:37 a.m. according to surveillance video, but the home wasn’t burglarized, police said.

A home in the 3700 block of Nathan Way (about a third of a mile from the Gailen Ave. home) was also burglarized that morning according to police.

Police said the suspect entered the property through an unlocked side yard gate and made entry through an unlocked window. Once inside the home, the suspect stole the resident’s purse from the kitchen table.

The victims, a couple in their forties, were asleep inside the home at the time of the incident and did not know it had occurred until they awoke to find the purse missing, the side yard gate open, and the open window with a screen removed, police said.

An unknown suspect had attempted to use credit cards that had been in the victim’s purse at a San Jose convenience store around 4:45 a.m. that morning, police said.

While investigating this burglary, police located a vehicle on the 3800 block of Nathan that was reported stolen earlier that morning at 3:07, according to surveillance video.

The 2012 Audi Q-7 SUV had been reported stolen on the 3800 block of Corina Way, about a tenth of a mile from the Gailen Ave. home.

Police processed the vehicle for evidence and returned it to the victim.

Overnight residential burglaries are extremely rare in Palo Alto.

Most residential burglars commit their crimes during the day, when homes are unoccupied and the chance of a confrontation with a resident are correspondingly reduced.

Police recommend putting locks on side yard gates to prevent easy unauthorized access to your property. Detectives believe all three of these crimes were likely committed by the same two suspects, and there is no indication that those suspects intended any physical harm to the sleeping residents.

Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to call our 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. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through our free mobile app, downloadable at www.bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or www.bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.