BY ALLISON LEVITSKY
Daily Post Staff Writer
A man was arrested in downtown Palo Alto after allegedly trying to carjack a FedEx driver in broad daylight, police said.
Dietrich Deshun Whitley, 34, of San Francisco, was arrested around 11:29 a.m. Tuesday (March 26) near Emerson Street and Lytton Avenue.
Police said the FedEx driver was parked on the 400 block of High Street to make deliveries on the 100 block of University Avenue.
When he got back to his truck after delivering a package, a passerby approached him and said, “Hey, that guy tried to get into your car,” while pointing to a man later identified as Whitley.
The driver made sure his truck was locked and then made another delivery on foot.
When he got back to the truck, he again saw Whitley, who allegedly approached him and demanded the keys to the truck.
Because Whitley was moving “very briskly” toward the driver, the driver was afraid that he might be armed or lunge at him, so he ran to the southwest corner of University Avenue and High Street and called police, police Agent Marianna Villaescusa said.
The driver worried that Whitley was following him, but didn’t see whether he was, according to police.
Police found Whitley in the area of Emerson and Lytton and the driver confirmed that he was the alleged carjacker.
Whitley was booked into Santa Clara County Jail on suspicion of attempted carjacking, a felony.
