Palo Alto police are looking for four people who they believe broke into an occupied home on Friday night in the city's Barron Park neighborhood.
Shortly before 10 p.m., police received a call about the break-in reported in the 3500 block of Emma Court, police said. A woman in her 70s was home alone and upstairs when the four people broke a sliding glass door and entered.
The woman told police that she heard noises and opened her door to ask who was there. She said she heard someone say "There's somebody in there" and three people with flashlights ran downstairs from another room upstairs. She said they left the house, got into a parked vehicle and drove away.
Police said after the group smashed the sliding glass door, they rummaged through multiple rooms and the woman wasn't sure what they took, if anything.
Police checked neighbors' security footage and saw four people get out of a vehicle, which appeared to be a black 2013 to 2016 Mercedes-Benz C-class, four-door sedan with no front license plate. The video also showed them leaving east on Matadero Avenue.
The woman described the three people in her home as less than 6 feet tall, with medium builds and wearing dark clothing, she told police.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the department's 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent by text message or voicemail to 650-383-8984. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the police's free mobile app, downloadable at bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.
Comments
Registered user
Midtown
on Oct 11, 2021 at 10:09 am
Registered user
on Oct 11, 2021 at 10:09 am
"...described the three people in her home as less than 6 feet tall, with medium builds and wearing dark clothing..."
Is this the best description that she provided? Did she at least say whether or not they were men? Even so, this is literally a description of nearly half of the men in the Bay Area.
Registered user
Adobe-Meadow
on Oct 11, 2021 at 10:33 am
Registered user
on Oct 11, 2021 at 10:33 am
It is politically incorrect and/or potentially racist to describe the ethnicities of assailants and suspects until they are actually apprehended by law enforcement.
Only then will the media release additional descriptions and backgrounds.
Registered user
another community
on Oct 11, 2021 at 11:26 am
Registered user
on Oct 11, 2021 at 11:26 am
If her home was dark and they were coming down the staircase with flashlights I can see where it might be harder to give a more detailed description of the suspects. Seeing someone in broad daylight - yes. 10 p.m. in dark clothing on a security camera or in a possibly dark home is a different story. Cut her some slack. Her home was burglarized. Who wouldn't be startled.
Registered user
another community
on Oct 11, 2021 at 12:30 pm
Registered user
on Oct 11, 2021 at 12:30 pm
Can we know the ethnicity of the woman who's house was broken in to? Seems like she could be in a victim class that would result in extra punishment for the perpetrators.
Registered user
Downtown North
on Oct 11, 2021 at 12:35 pm
Registered user
on Oct 11, 2021 at 12:35 pm
"Can we know the ethnicity of the woman who's house was broken in to?"
Residential burglary is not a hate crime but one of opportunity.
It is irrelevant to be informed of the victim's ethnicity.
Except for maybe perceived vulnerabilities, most thieves are generally not picky when it comes to choosing their targets.
Registered user
Evergreen Park
on Oct 11, 2021 at 6:15 pm
Registered user
on Oct 11, 2021 at 6:15 pm
Lyle, are you sure? In the context of a search, it would surely be highly preferable to describe everything visible or heard which would help identify the subject of the search.
Registered user
Midtown
on Oct 12, 2021 at 12:35 pm
Registered user
on Oct 12, 2021 at 12:35 pm
Wow! What stuck out for me was their driving off in a Mercedes. Guess they are more or less successful burglars.
Registered user
Crescent Park
on Oct 12, 2021 at 11:03 pm
Registered user
on Oct 12, 2021 at 11:03 pm
Maybe she didn’t get a good look at the suspects. Or they were wearing masks, hats who knows, sun glasses that would disguise somebody’s face well and even make their ethnicity hard to tell.