Police Arrest Duo Following Vandalism, Assault on Officer
Published on October 11, 2024
Palo Alto, CA – Police arrested two suspects this week in connection with a vandalism at the Stanford Shopping Center that occurred Monday night. One officer was injured attempting to apprehend the fleeing suspects.
On Monday, October 7, 2024, at about 6:00 p.m., officers were at the Stanford Shopping Center monitoring a demonstration occurring at that location. Officers observed a female demonstrator use spray paint to scrawl illegible text on the front windows of the Apple Store. Shortly thereafter, a witness reported to officers that the same suspect had earlier spray-painted illegibly on the front windows of the Sephora store nearby.
When officers attempted to detain the suspect, she ran from officers and attempted to enter the passenger seat of a waiting vehicle occupied by a male driver. As an officer attempted to extract the struggling female suspect from the open door of the vehicle, the male driver abruptly pulled away from the curb slamming the officer’s hand in the door, knocking him to the ground, and running over his foot. The vehicle was able to elude capture at that time.
The officer was treated and released at a local hospital for moderate injuries to his hand and foot. The female suspect caused damage to the retail storefronts estimated to exceed $1000.
The female suspect, 26-year-old Fatima Yahyaa of Berkeley, was located and arrested later that night in Berkeley, with the assistance of the Berkeley Police Department. She was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail for vandalism, conspiracy, and resisting arrest with violence (all felonies), as well as misdemeanor resisting arrest. Her booking photograph appears above (left).
Through investigation, detectives identified the male suspect as 25-year-old True Brading of Berkeley. Police obtained a probable cause arrest warrant for assault with a deadly weapon and conspiracy (both felonies), as well as misdemeanor resisting arrest. With the assistance of the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, Palo Alto detectives arrested Brading Thursday night in El Sobrante. He was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail pursuant to the warrant. His booking photograph appears above (right).
Of note, during the same demonstration, a counter-demonstrator reported that his Israeli flag had been taken from him. The victim, a male in his fifties, reported that he did not know which of the demonstrators had taken it. The flag is outstanding and the suspect remains unidentified. Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime, and do not believe that the theft of the flag is directly connected to the suspects arrested for the vandalism and assault.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call our 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.