Police are investigating a robbery that occurred yesterday morning where three suspects stole about $30,000 in cigarettes from a semi-trailer truck making a delivery. No one was physically injured. The suspects are unknown and at large.
On Thursday, May 23, 2024, at about 7:38 a.m., our 24-hour dispatch center received an alarm coming from the Palo Alto Shell at 2200 El Camino Real. When officers arrived on scene, they learned that an employee of a delivery company had activated the alarm because there had just been a robbery.
The investigation revealed that the two victims, a man in his fifties and a man in his forties, had been working in tandem on a 53-foot semi-trailer truck making deliveries. When they arrived at the Palo Alto Shell, they made their delivery. The younger victim went into the station to get paperwork signed, and the older victim was in the back of the trailer working. That victim heard footsteps inside the trailer, and turned around to find two suspects, one of whom reached for a bulge in his waistband and warned him to stay back. The victim assumed the suspect may have a weapon, but none was seen or displayed.
The two suspects proceeded to cut the wrapping off a pallet and then passed several tote boxes full of cigarettes from the pallet to a third suspect, who remained outside. That third suspect dumped the cigarettes out of the tote boxes and into a vehicle, and then all three suspects entered the vehicle and fled westbound on College Avenue. The preliminary loss was estimated at $30,000.
The victims described the suspects as Black males in their twenties, all wearing dark clothing with ski masks covering their faces. The victims described the suspect vehicle as a newer sports utility vehicle. Detectives are actively investigating this incident. No similar crimes have been reported to police recently in Palo Alto.
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.
