The woman relinquished her belongings and ran away. She looked back and saw four people were inside her car, police said. The victim and a good Samaritan returned and saw the teens unsuccessfully attempt to start the car. The group of four fled on foot toward El Camino Real after noticing they were being watched, she told police.
The woman was not injured.
A police sergeant spotted four youths matching the description of the alleged carjackers at the downtown Palo Alto Caltrain station and detained them. One of the teens had the woman's stolen property, police said.
Three of the boys are 16 years old and one is 14 years old. All are Oakland residents, police said. They were booked into Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall on suspicion of robbery, attempted carjacking and conspiracy, which are all felonies.
Their names and booking photos are not being released because of their ages, police said.
On Tuesday, three women allegedly pepper-sprayed and struck a loss-prevention officer at Stanford Shopping Center at about 7:30 p.m. when he tried to stop them from exiting the store with clothing they hadn't purchased, police said in a press release issued Wednesday.
The officer confronted the women outside the store and requested they return the merchandise, but they refused. One of the women brandished a can of pepper spray and attempted to spray the officer. The other two women punched his face and head.
The trio from Sacramento attempted to escape in a nearby car carrying three children, including a 7-month-old.
The trio fled in a nearby car and the loss-prevention officer contacted police. Responding police officers located the car leaving the shopping center and detained it on Quarry Road near Pear Lane. Officers located a pepper spray canister and multiple articles of stolen clothing.
The security guard complained of pain to his head but declined medical attention, police said.
All three women are residents of Sacramento. One, who is 22 years old, was booked into Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of robbery, conspiracy and being a convicted felon in possession of pepper spray. The other two women, who are 21 and 22 years old, were each booked on suspicion of robbery and conspiracy. The children were released to a family member, police said.
Anyone with information about either incident is asked to call the Palo Alto Police Department's 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to [email protected] or sent by text message or voicemail to 650-383-8984.
Editor's note: The Palo Alto Weekly's policy is to withhold the names of those arrested for most crimes until the district attorney has determined there is sufficient evidence to file charges in the case.
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