Palo Alto police arrested a fraud suspect who evaded police for hours

PALO ALTO — Authorities in Northern California have arrested a fraud suspect accused of evading police for more than four hours by befriending a homeowner who invited him into his home for a meal.

Dominique Arnett Tabb, 35, of San Francisco, was taken into custody in the Silicon Valley city of Palo Alto around 10 p.m. Monday, police said. He's also wanted in Oklahoma on sex crime allegations.

Police responded to a report about a fraudulent transaction at a bank around 5 p.m. Monday. Tabb is accused of running from police, sparking a manhunt in the neighborhood. A containment perimeter was set up, and nearly 300 residences and businesses were alerted with recorded phone messages, officials said.

The homeowner, a man in his 60s, told investigators he saw Tabb in his yard with some injuries. Police say Tabb told the homeowner that he had been "jumped" and people were looking for him, so the homeowner invited him inside and even made some food for him.

The two became friends and chatted inside for hours while officers went from yard to yard looking for the suspect, police said.

The homeowner was about to give Tabb a ride to a train station in San Francisco when police spotted them leaving the house and arrested Tabb, officials said. The homeowner told police that he received the recorded message but didn't think the description matched Tabb.

Tabb was treated for minor injuries before he was arrested on suspicion felony check fraud and misdemeanor resisting arrest. He was booked into Santa Clara County jail, and police did not know if he had an attorney yet.