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Police in Palo Alto launched the search after receiving an
emergency call on Monday about a possible fraudulent bank
transaction linked to a man wanted in Oklahoma for a sex crime
with a minor, the city's police department said.
Officers tried to nab 35-year-old Dominique Tabb of San
Francisco at the bank, but he hopped a fence and ran into a
residential neighborhood where officers began a yard-to-yard
search, Palo Alto Detective Sergeant Brian Philip said.
A homeowner in his 60s saw Tabb in his yard with some minor
scrapes, and Tabb told him that assailants had beaten him up and
that he was trying to escape, police said. Believing his story,
the homeowner invited Tabb into his home and they shared a meal.
"In his mind it appears he was helping a person out and doing
him a favor and getting him out of harm's way," Philip said.
"Fortunately nothing bad happened."
Police used a phone system to call residents in the area and
give them a recorded description of the suspect. At one point,
the homeowner received that call, but he disregarded it because
he did not believe Tabb matched the description, police said.
More than four hours after he brought Tabb into his home, the
man went out to drive him to San Francisco or a nearby train
station, police said.
A patrol officer saw the pair and arrested Tabb, who was booked
into Santa Clara County jail on suspicion of check fraud and
misdemeanor resisting arrest, as well as the outstanding warrant
from Oklahoma, police said.
(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis in Los Angeles; Editing by
Cynthia Johnston and Eric Walsh)
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