San Mateo County

San Mateo Sheriff Warns Motorists After Violent Robbery on Remote Stretch of Highway 1

The victims pulled over to let a tailgating vehicle pass. The tailgaters pulled over, too, and proceeded to rob the unsuspecting couple, authorities said.

Sheriff's deputies are warning motorists on the Peninsula after two armed suspects robbed a couple Sunday night after the victims pulled their car over to the side of the road along state Highway 1 in unincorporated San Mateo County.

The victims, a man and woman in their 30s, were driving southbound on the highway about 9:30 p.m., somewhere between Half Moon Bay and San Gregorio, when they noticed a vehicle tailgating them, according to sheriff's officials. When the victims pulled over to let the tailgating vehicle pass ahead of them, the tailgating vehicle immediately cut in front of them and stopped.

"The couple pulled over because this person was tailgating them," sheriff's spokesman Salvador Zuno said. "So they pulled over, and as soon as they did, the other vehicle pulled over and blocked them in."

Two male suspects then got out of the vehicle, both wearing masks and gloves. One suspect was armed with a handgun while the other was armed with a knife, sheriff's officials said.

The suspects forced the victims to roll down the windows of their vehicle. One suspect held a gun to the female driver's head, demanding the woman's purse and cellphone, while the second suspect held a knife to the male passenger's throat, demanding his wallet and cellphone, according to sheriff's officials. After taking the victims' property, the suspects then ran back into their vehicle and fled southbound on the highway.

Although the victims were not seriously injured, the male victim suffered minor scrapes on his neck from the knife, sheriff's officials said.

The victims described the suspect vehicle as a black Ford Crown Victoria with tinted windows and no license plates attached.

"Because they were masked. we can't confirm their race or sex yet," Zuno said.

Sheriff's deputies have a warning for everyone: "Don't pull over," Zuno said. "Make the other driver go around you. Make them pass you."

Sheriff’s deputies said there is a possibility the suspects in the Highway 1 robbery could be linked to an armed robbery that happened Monday at a jewelry store in Half Moon Bay. The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office released photos of those suspects late Monday afternoon.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.

Bay City News contributed to this report.

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