San Mateo Robbery Suspect's Gaffe Leads To His Arrest

SAN MATEO, CA — A Peninsula robbery suspect’s gaffe led to his own arrest.

A suspect in a violent robbery in San Mateo last week that left his alleged victim hospitalized was running away from the scene after attacking his alleged victim when he dropped his own wallet, which made tracking him down quick work, the San Mateo Police Department said in a news release.

The robber choked out his alleged victim when he refused to hand over his personal property early Friday evening in the area of Monte Diablo Ave / N. Claremont Street, police said.

The assault took place for several minutes and the alleged victim reportedly nearly blacked out, police said.

The suspect dropped his own wallet as he fled toward his home in the unit block of N. Claremont Street, police said.

The alleged victim’s description of the suspect matched that of suspect in a trespassing incident earlier in the day, police said.

Upon discovering the dropped wallet, officers confirmed the robbery suspect was the same person as the trespassing suspect from the earlier incident.

The suspect was arrested at around 7:30 p.m. and was booked into San Mateo County Jail, police said.

The victim was in stable condition as of Tuesday afternoon, police said.