Police/Fire

An 83-year-old Los Altos Hills woman sustained minor injuries during a robbery of her home Thursday (Aug. 23), according to the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.

Three male suspects remained at large as of Friday morning, but detectives are actively investigating the case and soliciting tips and home video surveillance footage from neighbors of the targeted residence, located in the 27000 block of Altamont Road near Black Mountain Road, said Captain Rich Urena of the West Valley Division. That intersection is less than 500 feet from Westwind Community Barn.

Courtesy of Google Maps

The resident’s gardener arrived soon after the suspects fled and called 911 at 11:10 a.m. Thursday, according to Urena, and the first sheriff’s deputy arrived within 4 minutes.

The resident told detectives she was home alone when she heard a noise in her house and went to investigate, according to Urena. She encountered three intruders: a Hispanic male in his 20s and two men she could not describe because they were wearing full face masks. They attacked her and then fled with numerous items ransacked from the home.

“She was a little, as you can imagine, traumatized,” Urena said.

Emergency responders treated the resident for injuries to her face caused when the suspects struck her with their hands, according to Urena.

Anyone who witnessed suspicious activity in area between 8 and 11:15 a.m. is asked call detectives at (408) 808-4500 and reference case number 18-235-0168. Remain anonymous by calling the tip line at (408) 808-4431.

{jathumbnail off}

The Santa Clara County Fire Department’s new chief has Los Altos roots.

Tony Bowden, who started his new job Aug. 13, began his career with the Los Altos Fire Department in 1996. He served Los Altos and Los Altos Hills for less than a year before the fire department merged into a county service by the end of ’96.

The Mountain View Police Department last month rolled out an effort to alert residents to traffic incidents by issuing weekly enforcement reports and introducing an initiative designed to give a behind-the-scenes look at everyday police work.

Mountain View City Attorney Jannie Quinn has requested a hearing in October in an attempt to convince a judge to drop a sexual harassment lawsuit against the city of Mountain View and its police department.

Megan V. Winslow/Town Crier

A Buick Electra is pictured where it came to rest Monday afternoon after passing over the sidewalk in front of the downtown Los Altos Walgreens store. The driver of the car, an elderly man, was the only person injured in the accident.

An elderly man sustained moderate injuries Monday (Aug. 6) afternoon when his car suddenly veered within feet of a store entrance, drove along a sidewalk and then rammed the side of semi-trailer truck in downtown Los Altos. No others were injured in the accident, according to police.

McCrossin

Statistics reveal that summer is the season most people go on vacation – and get burglarized while they’re away.

This year is no exception, according to Los Altos Police Capt. Scott McCrossin, who recently reported a small uptick in home burglaries but noted that it’s about average or even below average when compared with previous years.