Woman arrested following Menlo Park home invasion
A call to police from a Menlo Park resident who had found an intruder in her home Saturday morning, Nov. 19, led to the arrest of a woman tied to thefts in three cities, Menlo Park Police stated in a press release.
At about 6 a.m., a resident in the 300 block of Felton Drive entered her kitchen to find an unknown woman standing in front of the open refrigerator. The resident confronted the intruder, who then left the residence, police stated.
The resident took photographs of the woman while she was gathering some of her belongings. Upon review of the photographs, the resident noticed what appeared to be a handgun among the woman’s belongings, police stated. Around 6:51 a.m., the resident called the police. Though officers searched the area for the suspect, they did not locate her, but information about her was shared with neighboring law enforcement agencies.
At about 9:59 a.m., San Mateo County Sheriff deputies found the suspect in Redwood City, in the area of Second Ave. and Fair Oaks Ave. She was identified as a 40-year-old female from Fresno. Deputies found a realistic replica Glock 17 pellet gun on her, and she was transported to the Menlo Park Police Department, the press release stated.
The Atherton police notified Menlo Park police that they had also received a report of a burglary that had occurred less than 2 miles from Felton Drive. A further search of the suspect’s property revealed items allegedly taken during the burglary in the Town of Atherton and items from other recent thefts in Menlo Park and Palo Alto, police stated.
Additionally, the woman was found to be under the influence of narcotics and in possession of narcotics paraphernalia. She was taken into custody and booked into the San Mateo County Jail for first-degree residential burglary, receiving stolen property, possession of drug paraphernalia and being under the influence of a controlled substance.
Man robbed, assaulted with pistol during date
Police in Menlo Park are investigating an armed robbery and assault that occurred on the 3600 block of Haven Avenue, east of U.S. Highway 101, on Nov. 18.
Officers responded to the scene at 5:55 p.m., where they found a 35-year-old man injured from being struck by a pistol as well as being punched and kicked.
A preliminary investigation determined that the victim had met up with a woman whom he had met on an online dating app. The victim and the woman were sitting his parked car when two men approached the car, hauled the victim from the vehicle and assaulted and took cash from him.
The woman willingly fled the scene with the assailants.
The assailants are described as Black adults, in their early 20s, wearing face masks. One was wearing all black clothing while the other was wearing a red jacket. One of the men was armed with a handgun. The female is being described as white or Hispanic, in her early 20s, wearing reading glasses, gray sneakers and a white dress with black designs on it.
The victim was treated at a local hospital for his injuries and then released.
Menlo Park police officers and detectives are actively investigating this case. The department asks that anyone with information regarding this case or who witnessed the incident call the department at 650-330-6300 or the anonymous tip line at 650-330-6395.
Firearms investigation leads to eight arrests
A joint operation by multiple law enforcement agencies around the Bay Area resulted in eight arrests last week for charges related to allegations of firearms possession and gang activity, San Francisco police said in a Nov. 18 press release.
The operation was initiated by the San Francisco Police Department Community Violence Reduction Team, which seized several firearms from an East Palo Alto residence in April of this year.
A months-long investigation into the weapons and multiple crimes around the Bay Area identified several suspects living in multiple jurisdictions.
On Nov. 16, seven search warrants were simultaneously executed by law enforcement.
Amari Green, 18, Xavier Garcia, 18, and Daniela Eaton, 36, were all arrested in San Francisco.
Ajay Balaoro, 25, was taken into custody in Vallejo, Reno Fiapoto, 23, was arrested in Fairfield, along with another person who allegedly had other outstanding warrants.
Ramone Fiapoto, 21, was arrested in East Palo Alto, and Tahmon Wilson, 20, was taken into custody in Richmond.
Five of the suspects face charges related to alleged gang activity and weapons possession, while Reno Fiapoto and Ramone Fiapoto were booked into San Mateo County Jail on outstanding warrants.
Bay City News Service
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