PALO ALTO, Calif. (KRON) — Police arrested a man Friday morning following several crimes where he allegedly approached men in their cars on two separate occasions and harassed them, according to the Palo Alto Police Department. There were no injuries in either of the incidents, police said.

Around 9:39 a.m., a man, suspect Ambrose Jamari Ochola of Walnut Creek, allegedly pulled his truck in front of a parked car with a man inside near the 200 block of University Avenue, approached the man sitting in his car and began banging on his driver’s side window with what police said was probably brass knuckles wrapped in electrical tape, later found in the Ochola’s car. The victim is in his 40s originally from Azerbaijan, officials said.

The victim told police Ochola accused him of following him and told him to “Go back to your country,” “We don’t want to see you here,” and “Leave our country.” The victim rolled down his window to ask Ochola what the problem was when he said Ochola spit in his face. The victim drove away but the suspect followed him.

Police arrived on the scene and contacted the suspect on the 500 block of Emerson Street and arrested him after a brief struggle.

While police were investigating this case, a second victim, a man in his 30s, reported also being approached by Ochola while sitting in his car near the intersection of Lytton Avenue and Ramona Street. The victim said Ochola accused him of following him and told him to get out of his car. When the victim refused, Ochola allegedly tried to punch through the victim’s half-open window and broke his driver’s side mirror. This incident was not considered a hate crime, officials said.

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Ochola, 35, was arrested and charged with five misdemeanors including hate crime, battery, resisting arrest, assault and vandalism and felony possession of illegal weapon. He was booked into the Santa Clara County Jail.

The investigation is ongoing.

Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to call the 24-hour dispatch center
at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via
text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.