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Palo Alto Police Arrest Wanted Felon Seen Prowling On Rooftop

PALO ALTO (CBS SF) – Palo Alto police arrested a wanted felon on Monday morning after he was spotted prowling on the rooftop of a residential garage.

At 5:28 a.m., officers responded to the report from a neighbor of a prowler walking on the roof of their neighbor's garage in the 500 block of Oxford Avenue.

Police arrived in less than two minutes and saw Los Gatos resident Mark John Harmon, 50, standing on the roof of a garage, according to police.

Police said that when officers were ordering Harmon to come down, he ran in the opposite direction, jumping down from the rooftop on the opposite side of where the officers were surrounding the home. He subsequently disappeared over a fence.

Mark John Harmon
Mark John Harmon. (Palo Alto Police)

Palo Alto police officers and Stanford University Department of Public Safety officers flooded the area to find Harmon.

Around 6 a.m., a K-9 from the Mountain View Police Department located the suspect hiding in the bushes of the same block the original call was made to, Palo Alto police said.

Police arrested Harmon without further incident. There was no evidence at the time of the investigation that suggested he attempted break-ins at any surrounding homes or the garage on which he was found, according to police.

Harmon was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail on suspicion of prowling and resisting arrest, both of which are misdemeanors.

However, Harmon had two outstanding felony warrants for his arrest out of San Jose for attempted burglary and auto theft. He was booked for those allegations as well, police said.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the Palo Alto 24-hour police dispatch center at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be submitted to authorities with an email to paloalto@tipnow.org, sent via text or voicemail to (650) 329-2413.

© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. and Bay City News Service. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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