A witness who intervened in an auto burglary in Palo Alto last week was threatened with a knife but managed to successfully foil the crime.

Police said today in a statement that the witness, a man in his 40s they did not identify, saw an auto burglary in progress in a parking garage Nov. 10.

The witness told police he drove into a garage at 520 Webster Street about 7:30pm when he saw two suspicious men. After parking his car, the man was walking through the garage when he heard a window smashed and then he saw the two men standing next to a car that had a window shattered, police said.

When the suspects saw him, they ran and the witness gave chase.

The witness told police he tackled one of the suspects who fought back. The second suspect threatened the witness with a knife and the witness let go of the suspect and the two men fled the scene.

The witness contacted Palo Alto police, who discovered the suspects had dropped a bag containing about $300 worth of items stolen from the burglarized vehicle.

Police contacted the owner of the vehicle and returned the items.

The victim described both suspects as Hispanic males between 20 and 30 years of age, wearing black hooded sweatshirts, black pants and face coverings. The one the victim tackled was about 5 feet 10 inches tall with a heavy build, while the one who brandished the knife was about 5 feet 6 inches tall with a thin build, police said.

Officers encourage anyone who witnesses a property crime like an auto burglary to immediately call the police, keep the suspects under observation from a safe distance and provide a full description to help officers apprehend them.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call our 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to

pa******@ti****.org











or sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.