Two suspects ended up in cuffs this weekend after a series of bold daylight robberies targeting mail carriers in Belmont and Palo Alto. In a daring escape attempt, the duo led cops on a high-speed chase in a reportedly stolen car, only to crash into an arboreal fate and take their chances on foot.
According to the Palo Alto Police Department, the incident kicked off just after lunch on Saturday when Belmont thugs carjacked postal keys at around 1:30 p.m. Cops got the drop on the accused less than an hour later when a tipster noticed shady characters in an Infiniti—plates pilfered from a Ford—casing the 800 block of Ilima Court.
Hot on the heels of the report, another mail carrier was reportedly jacked at gunpoint by two men matching the previous description. The getaway driver lost control during the chase, smashing into a tree, and both suspects fled the wreckage. The police nabbed them shortly after, escaping any injuries during the takedown. Inside the banged-up Infiniti, officers found replica handguns and the filched postal keys, confirming the suspects’ alleged involvement in the earlier postal heist.
The Palo Alto victim, a man in his sixties, found himself on the business end of a gun while the suspects demanded his keys. The Belmont victim, a woman in her forties, was roughed up but sidestepped a trip to the hospital, "No weapon was used," reports from the Police Department stated. Nineteen-year-old Trevionne Levar Williams from Sacramento was tossed in the clink on a slew of charges, including robbery and elder abuse, plus some beef for a foot chase. Details about his juvenile accomplice are scarce, given the kid's age.
Detectives from Palo Alto are now in cahoots with Belmont law enforcement and the US Postal Inspection Service to piece it all together. It seems these cases of pilfering postal keys are part of a larger trend despite their rarity in Palo Alto.
For the law-abiding folk, there’s a reward on the table: up to $150,000 for information that pins down the crooks behind these postal key heists. If you’ve got the goods, the Postal Inspection Service hotline is open at (877) 876-2455. Locals with tips can also contact Palo Alto police directly at (650) 329-2413 or through various anonymous channels.
