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This information is based on reports from the Menlo Park Police Department and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office. Under the law, people charged with offenses are considered innocent unless convicted. Police received the reports on the dates shown.
MENLO PARK
Robbery: Armed with a stun gun, three females of unknown age robbed the Safeway supermarket at 525 El Camino Real. A store employee noticed two of the suspects attempting to leave the store with merchandise they hadn’t paid for, one pushing a shopping cart and the other carrying things in her arms, possibly including baby formula. The employee “made contact” with the second suspect, who then pulled a stun gun from her pocket and used it on the employee, police said. The discharge hit the employee in the chest but did not make physical contact with the skin, and there were no injuries, police said. The suspects remain at large with the allegedly stolen merchandise. Oct. 19.
Residential burglary: Perhaps using an unlocked window to gain entry to a house on Seminary Drive, burglars damaged a window screen, ransacked several rooms and stole jewelry, a laptop computer, a gaming machine and $200 in cash. Estimated losses: $13,000. Oct. 19.
Thefts:
• Thieves stole two bikes locked to bike racks, one on Commonwealth Avenue and the other in front of the Safeway supermarket at 525 El Camino Real. Estimated losses: $1,200 and $300. Oct. 18 and 19.
• A thief made off with an unlocked bike parked on the front porch of a home on Cotton Street. Estimated loss: $350. Oct. 18.
• Someone stole gym clothes, an ice hockey helmet, shoes and a gym bag from the balcony of an apartment on East Creek Drive. Estimated loss: $290. Oct. 18.
• A man walked into the 7-Eleven convenience store at Oak Grove Avenue and Alma Street and walked out with a 12-pack of Stella Artois beer he hadn’t paid for. The man was described as white, about 6 feet tall with a thin build, brown short hair and a beard and wearing brown pants and a dirty white shirt with holes in the front. Estimated loss: $20. Oct. 19.
• Police arrested and booked two women and a minor on suspicion of having stolen merchandise from the CVS pharmacy and BevMo liquor store at 700 El Camino Real. Police said they found merchandise believed to be stolen in the car the women were driving. No losses. Oct. 18.
Fraud: A couple living on Hedge Road bought a vehicle on Craigslist only to find afterward that someone had falsified the mileage. No estimate on losses. Oct. 20.
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WEST MENLO PARK
Possible drunken driving: A deputy made a traffic stop in the vicinity of Alameda de las Pulgas and Woodside Road after seeing a driver stop for a red light with his vehicle almost entirely past the white limit line, then move forward in “an S-like pattern” after the light turned green. While talking with the driver, the deputy detected an alcoholic scent and saw that the driver’s eyes appeared bloodshot and watery. Also noted: an empty beer bottle on the rear passenger floorboard and an open 12-pack of beer on the front passenger floorboard. The deputy called in the California Highway Patrol for further investigation. Oct. 8.
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WOODSIDE
Auto burglary: A man returned to his vehicle parked in the 1500 block of Woodside Road to discover a smashed front passenger window and his black briefcase missing from the front seat. In the briefcase were his wallet, driver’s license, credit cards a cellphone and a disk of recorded music. Estimated loss: $562. Oct. 4.
Bicycle accident: A man driving on Old La Honda Road made a 911 call after seeing a bicyclist be ejected from her bike after locking her brakes while descending the steep, narrow and winding road at high speed. The driver waited for medics in the company of the cyclist, who was convulsing on the ground. A deputy found no road hazards that might have caused the accident. Oct. 9.
Trespassing: A sheriff’s deputy responded to a report of a co-owner of a residential property on Eastview Way coming to the site after being told by deputies not to do so or face arrest for trespassing. The deputy did not find the man. Oct. 6.
Dispute on trail: A man walking on a trail near Canada and Edgewood roads with a service dog exchanged quarrelsome words with another man complaining about the dog being off leash, contrary to regulations. The dog’s owner reportedly squirted the other man from a water bottle. A sheriff’s deputy called to the scene noted that service dogs are permitted on trails and the two men “eventually shook hands and went their separate ways,” deputies said. Oct. 4.
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By Dave Boyce
By Dave Boyce
By Dave Boyce
Hard to believe there was no description of the three women who allegedly robbed the Safeway store.
Not only did they omit description but it would have been interesting to know time of day it happened too
The much lesser and non-violent crime of shoplifting beer was fully covered with a full description of the suspect… Hmmmm.
In crime reporting, the Almanac includes the suspect’s race when the police or sheriff’s office accompanies that information with other similar descriptive information, including height, weight, clothing, etc. information that the public could reasonably use were they on the scene at the time the incident took place.
A person’s race is also important when it’s relevant to the arc of the story, such as a story on the “Black Lives Matter” movement.
Instead of attempting to stop the shoplifters, how about focusing on what make, model and color of car they get into, noting the license plate numbers/letters and reporting the information to the police.