Suspects tied to Willows neighborhood burglaries arrested

During the past month, there has been an increase in daytime residential burglaries in Menlo Park’s Willows neighborhood. Due to this rash of burglaries, Menlo Park Police patrol units have been providing extra patrols in the area.

Along with the marked police officer patrols, the Menlo Park Police NET (Narcotics Enforcement Team) and Detective units have conducted several undercover surveillance operations in the vicinity of the burglaries.

On December 19, 2016, at about 4:50 p.m. NET Detective personnel observed a suspicious vehicle in the area. The vehicle was stopped for a vehicle code violation on O’Keefe Street and Menalto Ave. The driver of the vehicle was found to have a suspended/revoked driver’s license. Two juvenile passengerS were also in the vehicle.

During the detention, it was determined that the two juvenile passengers resembled residential burglary suspects from the area, who had been captured by a victim’s home security video system. The two juveniles and driver of the vehicle were arrested and transported to the police station for interviews.

Subsequent investigation and evidence uncovered by detectives and patrol officers established probable cause to arrest the two juvenile suspects on two counts of residential burglary (which had been committed in the area), along with conspiracy.

The arrested suspects are as follows:
– 19-year-old Kevin Plazola-Navarro, a resident of East Palo Alto, was arrested, cited and released for driving on a suspended license.
– A 16-year-old male juvenile, a resident of East Palo Alto, was arrested on two counts of residential burglary, conspiracy to commit a felony, and providing a false name. The suspect was also on probation for residential burglary and had a “no bail” warrant for probation violation and was booked into Hillcrest Juvenile Detention Facility.
– A 16-year-old male juvenile, a resident of East Palo Alto, was arrested on two counts of residential burglary, conspiracy to commit a felony, and was booked into Hillcrest Juvenile Detention Facility.

Investigation is continuing on this case and has led to the juvenile suspects being connected to several more residential burglaries in the Willow’s neighborhood.

The police department would urge all residents to continue to be vigilant and report all suspicious persons or vehicles immediately to the police department. It should be noted that the video surveillance provided by a victim-resident provided excellent evidence in this case allowing the suspects to be identified, and the police department wishes to thank those residents for their invaluable assistance in this case.