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Uploaded: Friday, January 23, 2009, 10:11 AM

Midtown Longs Drugs robbed Thursday night
Robber displayed rifle, made off with cash, police report

Posted by Donald, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Jan 23, 2009 at 10:51 am

A trench coat and a rifle? Sounds like a scene out of a bad western.

Posted by YouShouldKnow, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jan 23, 2009 at 1:10 pm

A rifle no less...and a trenchcoat to conceal it. I hope his occupational hazards catch up to him sooner than later. Robbing a Drug store sounds like practice to me...approximate age of this Pillar of Society?

Posted by @youshouldknow, a resident of the Barron Park neighborhood, on Jan 23, 2009 at 3:45 pm

[Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]

Posted by musical, a resident of the Palo Verde neighborhood, on Jan 23, 2009 at 4:20 pm

You won't see much constructive commentary here on these types of stories. Just a place to vent. Anyone with useful input will take it directly to the police, which on the tip line can be done anonymously if they wish.

Local news items about taxes, schools, high speed rail, traffic issues, etc, may generate some thoughtful or informative postings among the usual debris common to public forums.

And yes, this post doesn't add anything useful either. Just burned five minutes of my Friday afternoon trying to stay informed, and now getting on with my own life.

Posted by YouShouldKnow, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jan 23, 2009 at 7:40 pm

What was Barron Parks problem? Was that Longs out of Midol?

Posted by Hmmm..., a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jan 23, 2009 at 9:53 pm

Barron Park was saying what we all are thinking. Don't say anything unless it is helpful to others.

Posted by YouShouldKnow, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jan 23, 2009 at 10:32 pm

[Post removed by Palo Alto Online staff.]

Posted by paddington, a resident of the Barron Park neighborhood, on Jan 23, 2009 at 11:52 pm

I think its funny how in the Daily post (hard copy) the article tied this robbery into the robbery of the Menlo park BIG 5, and made a connection with the rifle coming from the Menlo park Big 5. Thats bad reporting, since if anyone know anything about Menlo Park you can't sell guns within the town. Therefore, Big 5 Dosn't sell guns.

Posted by YouShouldKnow, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jan 24, 2009 at 11:03 am

Again, what is the estimated age of this person? If we are to be 'helpful' as the eyes of the community, it would be 'helpful' to know what approx. age group when we are checking out tall white men in trench coats maybe acting in a suspicious manner.

Posted by Hmmm..., a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jan 24, 2009 at 1:22 pm

The age would be helpful, but to really think we are going to peg a "tall, white man wearing a black trench coat" is a stretch even if we know the age. Plus, would the robber actually wear that trench coat around town after using it in a robbery?

Posted by Greg, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on Jan 24, 2009 at 2:06 pm

The article also says he has brown hair and a beard, so that restricts the profile somewhat. Anytime a gun is used in a crime, the police need to respond aggressively.

Posted by YouShouldKnow, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jan 24, 2009 at 5:18 pm

Why not? We don't know. Lots of stupid criminals out there. The beard could be fake, and this guy may not have access to a handgun and that's why he is using such a conspicuous weapon as a rifle thus he needs the long coat to cover it up. More difficult to disguise your face than your age, height etc. And of all places, why a Longs Drugs? Hardly a repository for huge sums of cash. That's why I speculated that could be a warm up hit. If we are all observant when out and about we could spot this guy again. It happens more than you think.

Posted by rr, a resident of the Southgate neighborhood, on Jan 25, 2009 at 9:00 am

Or, he could have shaved the beard and his head. Then, he would look like any number of people around town. Don't you know, profiling is dead anyways. Now, cops need to go back to basics when doing their job. This will of course mean an increase in crime, until things are leveled out.

A back to basics approach, which stands today as case law, described in this famous US Supreme Court case Terry v Ohio and is easily explained here:

Web Link

Everyone should read this entry, because it will give you an actual REAL and VALID explanation of why it is so, so difficult for the Police to find and catch criminals.

This hopefully will also help those of you who are so critical of cops and bring about a little understanding of what they can and cannot do in certain situations.

Posted by KT, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Jan 25, 2009 at 10:05 am

Maybe a nice sketch from the police sketch artist would help. Thank goodness he didn't hurt anyone. Just around that time, maybe a little before or after I saw a cop "staked out" at the liquor store on middlefield....so I know they are persuing the matter!

Posted by Resident, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jan 25, 2009 at 10:29 am

I do know Big 5 in Menlo Park and I know that they sell airguns. I believe that it was an airgun that was stolen from there. I think that some of these airguns look like rifles. If I was a scared Longs employee being held up by what appeared to be a thief in a trench coat and pointing a rifle at me, I am sure that I would have no idea if it were a real gun or an airgun.

I don't think these facts can be discounted.

Posted by YouShouldKnow, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jan 25, 2009 at 2:56 pm

I personally like this site, Police Law. It gives a good user friendly overview of various aspects of police procedure, not quite as dry as a straight reading of 'Terry'. Also, if you really want to understand both sides before being so openly critical, Palo Alto, as does other cities, offers a Citizens Academy. Go on the City website to check it out.

Web Link

Posted by cameras, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jan 25, 2009 at 8:49 pm

this is a retail store. they all have cameras, right?

Posted by Alan, a resident of the Greenmeadow neighborhood, on Jan 26, 2009 at 8:37 pm

I just happened to be driving by there as the 4th or 5th police car was arriving. No guy in a black rain coat came running by on Middlefield, I'd remember that.

That store does have a camera at the entrance, IIRC. Why aren't they posting any pictures from that camera? It would be the best way to catch this person.

Posted by jardins, a resident of the Greater Miranda neighborhood, on Jan 27, 2009 at 1:27 pm

I'm really bothered by all the hold-ups in the Midtown shopping area in the last year or so: Washington Mutual, Safeway, Round Table, 7-Eleven, Baskin-Robbins, and now Long's. And the hold-ups are happening during the evenings--not in the early hours--when kids are around, too.

What's being done to make Midtown safer at night? It's just a matter of time before one of those guns is used on someone.

Posted by twosides, a resident of the South of Midtown neighborhood, on Jan 29, 2009 at 4:45 pm

Yeah, Midtown seems to be the place to commit a crime lately, and the neighborhoods around it too! What's going on?