Police Arrest Man for Overnight Robbery at Downtown Train Station
Photo: Jesse Clay Camper III
Originally published as a City of Palo Alto press release –
“Palo Alto, CA – Police arrested a parolee last week after he assaulted and robbed an elderly man at the downtown train station. The victim was not injured.
On Friday, May 21, 2021, at about 1:41 a.m., our 24-hour dispatch center received a call from a man in his seventies who reported he had just been assaulted and robbed at the downtown train station at 95 University Avenue. Officers responded immediately, but the suspect had fled and was not immediately located.
The investigation revealed that the suspect had approached the victim while he was getting to ready to sleep on the train platform and accused him of stealing his cell phone. The suspect, who was not previously known to the victim, proceeded to kick the victim in the leg and then punched him in the head.
The suspect then took off his belt and hit the victim in the face with it. The suspect stole the victim’s backpack, which contained an iPad and blankets, and fled on foot. The victim, as well as a witness to the robbery, gave chase but soon lost sight of the suspect as he ran eastbound on Lytton Avenue. The victim was not physically injured.
At about 3:28 a.m., a patrol officer located a man matching the suspect’s description standing outside the downtown 7-Eleven at 401 Waverley Street. When officers went to detain the man for investigation, he was physically resistive and refused to comply with instructions. Officers were able to take him into custody without using any force beyond control holds.
Due to the suspect’s continued resistive behavior, officers had to place him in a safety restraint device. The suspect also threatened to spit on officers and said he would fight the police were he not in handcuffs. The suspect was no longer in possession of the victim’s backpack, which remains outstanding.
Once in custody, the suspect said he was having difficulty breathing. Officers summoned paramedics from the Palo Alto Fire Department, who transported the suspect to a local hospital. He received a medical clearance for incarceration a short time later.
Police then booked 34-year-old Jesse Clay Camper III of Oakland into the Santa Clara County Main Jail for robbery and elder abuse (both felonies) and resisting arrest (a misdemeanor). Camper is on active parole for a prior robbery conviction. Police also placed a parole violation hold on him at the direction of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. His booking photo is attached to this release.”
