Police arrested a man on Thursday morning after he shattered windows of three downtown Palo Alto businesses by throwing rocks, then fled from police on foot. Officers caught the suspect and booked him into jail.
On Thursday, February 22, 2024, at about 10:54 a.m., our 24-hour dispatch center received a report of a man screaming and kicking store fronts in the 500 block of Emerson Street. As officers responded, dispatch received additional calls reporting that the man had just smashed the front windows of Bare Bowls at 530 Emerson Street and Kitchen Nail Bar at 540 Emerson Street with rocks. Callers also reported the man was also throwing rocks at people on the street.
At 10:59 a.m., an officer located the suspect on Lytton Avenue at High Street and attempted to detain him, but the suspect fled on foot to the Palo Alto Transit Center at 95 University Avenue. Officers gave chase and saw him board a bus. Police told the driver to have all passengers exit the bus while they awaited the arrival of additional units, but the suspect used an emergency window exit and jumped out of the rear end of the bus and fled again. This time, officers were able to catch the suspect, and after a brief struggle, took him into custody at 11:04 a.m. During a search incident to arrest, officers located suspected methamphetamine in the suspect’s pocket.
One officer sustained minor injuries during the struggle (abrasions to the face and forearm, and pain to the lower back). Paramedics from the Palo Alto Fire Department treated and released the officer at the scene. The suspect was not injured.
The investigation revealed that the suspect had broken the front windows of three businesses (Bare Bowls and Kitchen Nail Bar as noted above, and also HE&C Tea + Pot at 544 Emerson Street). Police estimated the damage at each business to be more than $500. No members of the public were injured due to the suspect’s actions.
Police booked the suspect, 41-year-old Sheik Riaz Ali of East Palo Alto, into the Santa Clara County Main Jail for three counts of felony vandalism, resisting an officer using force (felony, for the struggle during the arrest), resisting/delaying an officer (misdemeanor, for fleeing from a lawful detention), and possession of methamphetamine (misdemeanor). His booking photo is available at www.cityofpaloalto.org/PAPDnews.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call our 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to [email protected] or sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.
