The Palo Alto Police Department is investigating a robbery that occurred at the Southwood Apartments at 2850 Middlefield Road. PAPD reports that a United States Postal Service mail carrier was targeted in yesterday’s robbery. Authorities are attempting to identify two suspects who remain at large.
Around 11:57 a.m. on May 16, 2024, dispatch received a call from a Postal Service supervisor reporting that a mail carrier had been robbed of his postal keys ten minutes earlier in the parking lot of the Southwood Apartments.
The postal worker, a man in his sixties, had been delivering mail when he was approached by two men who demanded his postal keys. The victim complied and gave the suspects the keys. The men demanded his wallet and cell phone. A fistfight ensued when the postal worker refused.
The suspects knocked the victim to the ground before fleeing towards the parking garage. The victim saw a black vehicle drive away from the garage a short time later. The victim provided a description of the suspects to authorities.
PAPD is searching for two Hispanic males in their twenties. Both are around 5 feet 8 inches with average builds and no facial hair. The suspects were wearing black hooded sweatshirts with their hoods up. They fled the scene in an older model Nissan Altima four-door sedan with paint that looked old.
Palo Alto detectives believed the suspects may also be responsible for a strong-arm robbery of a mail carrier in December 2023. It is not known if this case is linked to yesterday’s arrests of two individuals for mail carrier robberies. No other details are available at this time.
Jay Skelton is an independent crime journalist with a passion for covering the uncovered and the under covered.