UPDATE, APRIL 11 — A man was arrested at UC-Berkeley Tuesday (April 11) after trying to rape a woman in the California Avenue pedestrian underpass in Palo Alto, police said.
Daniel Widyanto Condronimpuno, 34, of Palm Beach, Fla., assaulted four female students at UC-Berkeley between April 5 and Sunday, the same day he committed the assault in Palo Alto, police said.
Condronimpuno and a woman were walking their bikes past each other in a pedestrian underpass, and he allegedly grabbed her from behind and took her to the ground, according to police.
Condronimpuno sexually assaulted the woman while she yelled for help, police said. The woman was taken to the hospital with a cut to the back of her head and bruising to her neck, police said. Condronimpuno stole her cellphone, which officers later found, police said.
Yesterday, officers at UC-Berkeley said they had a possible suspect under observation, and Condronimpuno was arrested. He is accused of grabbing three female students in inappropriate areas over their clothes and grabbing a fourth female student and knocking her down at UC-Berkeley.
Condronimpuno is facing eight felonies.
Police are waiting to release his mugshot until they determine if he is part of any other investigations.
ORIGINAL STORY, APRIL 9 — Palo Alto police are investigating a brazen sexual assault this afternoon (April 9) in the California Avenue pedestrian underpass. The suspect is at large. The victim sustained moderate physical injuries.
At 2:49 p.m., police dispatchers received a call from a passerby reporting that he had discovered a woman in the underpass who said she had just been sexually assaulted there. Police responded immediately.
The woman told police she had been walking her bicycle eastbound through the underpass. She was passed by the suspect, who was walking his bike westbound. The suspect then struck the victim from behind, causing her to fall to the ground. He then sexually assaulted her.
The victim yelled for help, at which point the suspect stole her cell phone and fled in an unknown direction. The passerby, who had not witnessed the assault, soon came to her aid and called police.
Officers found her cellphone in the 3000 block of Emerson Street at about 3:05 p.m. and are processing it for evidence.
Paramedics from the Palo Alto Fire Department took the woman to the hospital, where she is receiving treatment for a laceration to the back of her head and bruising to her neck. She is also receiving a forensic medical examination.
The victim described the suspect as an Asian male between 30 and 40 years of age, about 5 feet 5 inches tall with a stocky build. She said he was cleanshaven, and was wearing a dark bike helmet, dark sunglasses, and a high-visibility yellow top.
Police said they are actively investigating this case, including canvassing the area for any available surveillance footage that may have captured the suspect before or after the assault. There have been no similar crimes reported to police recently in Palo Alto.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call police at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to [email protected] or sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.
What a relief that he’s in custody. Kudos to LE for making an arrest so fast.
Yes!