Palo Alto: $30,000 worth of cigarettes stolen in robbery

The incident happened Thursday morning at a gas station in the 2200 block of El Camino Real.

PALO ALTO — Around $30,000 worth of cigarettes were stolen during a delivery truck robbery Thursday in Palo Alto, according to police.

The incident happened around 7:40 a.m. at Palo Alto Shell, located at 2200 El Camino Real, near College Avenue, the Palo Alto Police Department said in a news release.

Two men, one in his 50s and the other in his 40s, stopped to make a delivery at the gas station. The younger man went inside to get paperwork signed while the older man stayed with the truck.

The older man was working inside the 53-foot trailer when he heard footsteps and turned around to see two men. One of them reached for a bulge in his waistband and warned the man to “stay back,” according to police.

“The victim assumed the suspect may have a weapon,” police said, “but none was seen or displayed.”

The robbers cut plastic wrapping off a pallet and passed several tote boxes full of cigarettes to a third man, who remained outside the truck, police said. The third man then dumped the cigarettes out of the tote boxes into a newer sports utility vehicle.

The trio left the gas station in the SUV which was last seen driving westbound on College Avenue.

“The preliminary loss was estimated at $30,000,” police said.

The robbers were in their 20s, all wearing dark clothing with ski masks covering their faces, according to police.

The robbery is under investigation, police said, adding that no similar crimes have been reported to police recently in the city.

Anyone with information related to the case can contact the police department at 650-329-2413; those wishing to remain anonymous can call or text 650-383-8984 or email paloalto@tipnow.org.