A man who evaded police capture after a robbery outside Wells Fargo Bank on South California Avenue on Aug. 1 has been identified and is being sought by Palo Alto police.
Gerardo Yepez Soto, 21, of Redwood City, is being sought by police in connection with the 11:05 a.m. robbery, during which a female victim, an employee of McDonald’s, was in the process of taking a large cash deposit from the business to the bank.
As the victim neared the bank, a male suspect, identified as Ismael Aquino-Flores, 20, of Redwood City, approached the victim and forcefully removed her purse, which contained several thousand dollars, police said.
Aquino-Flores fled to a waiting green Honda Accord. An associated silver Honda, which was waiting nearby also fled the scene.
A witness at the scene described the two vehicles. Palo Alto police fanned out and quickly caught up to both vehicles.
A detective working undercover spotted the two vehicles on Churchill Avenue. She followed the two cars until additional police units arrived.
Attempting to evade police, the two vehicles split up.
Police stopped the silver Honda Civic at Greer Road and Tulip Lane and arrested Fabian Delgadillo, 21, of Redwood City.
The green Honda Accord was pulled over in Old Palo Alto, near the intersection of Coleridge Avenue and Cowper Street, police Sgt. Wayne Benitez said. Aquino-Flores was taken into custody.
Yepez Soto, the driver, fled on foot through residential back yards. Police summoned a canine unit and a California Highway Patrol helicopter to the scene to search for the suspect and had cruisers positioned at major intersections around the neighborhood.
Yepez Soto was able to escape.
Detectives discovered that the three suspects acted together to carry out the robbery. Yepez Soto worked with the victim at McDonald’s and had knowledge regarding when and where cash deposits were to be made, police said.
All of the stolen property was recovered and returned to the victim. Aquino-Flores and Delgadillo were arrested and booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail on one count each of conspiracy and robbery.
Yepez Soto is described as a Hispanic male in his early 20s, about 5 feet 10 inches tall and wearing white clothes.
An email was sent to neighborhood groups from the Santa Clara County Emergency Alert System (AlertSCC) at approximately 1:45 p.m. with the following statement: “This is a follow up message to the police action in the 500 block of Coleridge. The police action is completed. There is no indication that the subject is still in the area. Thank you from the Palo Alto Police Department.”
Anyone with information about Yepez Soto’s location is encouraged to call the Palo Alto Police Department at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org, or anonymous voicemails and text messages can be sent to 650-383-8984.