Three arrested in Blockbuster robbery Three arrested in Blockbuster robbery (March 10, 2004)

By Jonas Raab
Special to the Almanac

Most people pay for movies they get from Blockbuster Video. Last week, two men defied that tradition and helped themselves to $1,000 worth of DVDs at the El Camino Real store in Menlo Park, police said.

After a brief pursuit through an unincorporated area of West Menlo Park, police arrested three suspects March 2 in connection with the robbery. An Atherton police dog helped locate one of the suspects, said Sgt. Andrew Kline of the Menlo Park Police Department.

The incident occurred at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 2, at the Blockbuster store at 1365 El Camino Real, which was open for business as usual. Two men walked in and began loading DVDs into shopping bags, employees told Menlo Park police. When confronted by the manager, the two fled with the merchandise into a waiting vehicle, said Sgt. Kline.

Several minutes later, in response to a 9-1-1 call describing the vehicle, Menlo Park police pulled over a car on Altschul Avenue.

One of the three men inside got out and fled, Sgt. Kline said. With the assistance of the Atherton police canine unit, the man was apprehended in the backyard of a residence on Oakley Avenue.

Antione Mouton, 22, of Sacramento; David Sturdivant, 21, of Burlingame; and Sindy Lacayo, 19, of San Francisco were arrested and booked into county jail on charges of burglary and conspiracy.

Officers from the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office, and the Palo Alto and Atherton police departments assisted Menlo Park police.

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