San Mateo man robbed of camera and gear

“I was going to photograph this sparrowhawk who just caught a mouse, I said ‘that’s a good kind of action shot’ and I was looking through a bush and I think that’s when the white Honda first passed by me,” Pagano said.

Pagano, who often frequents the trail, said it’s a generally peaceful and quiet area, typically occupied by hikers and park rangers. The robbery happened within minutes. Pagano’s trunk was open and he was about to let the dog out of the car when he noticed a white Honda sedan approaching him. A tall, slender man wearing a black mask appeared to be running toward him with his arms out. The perpetrator grabbed the black camera bag from Pagano’s hands. Pagano tried to fight him off but the perpetrator overpowered him, he said.

“What are you doing, this is my livelihood,” yelled Pagano at the man, who wrestled with him before throwing Pagano to the ground, scuffing his hands and muddying his pants leaving him on the ground, shocked and left without his camera and equipment.

Pagano said the entire experience was traumatizing and the equipment was worth about $5,000.

Looking back, Pagano assumes the perpetrators saw him taking photos at Pulgas Water Temple off Cañada Road earlier that day and followed him to the trail.

“It’s a remote location, nobody goes out there, so they must have followed me,” Pagano said.

Ultimately, he plans on being more aware of his surroundings and hopes others will do the same.

“It was terrifying and violating,” Pagano said.

San Mateo County Sheriff’s Sgt. Javier Acosta said strong-arm robberies are not on the rise in the county but urges the community to report suspicious persons and circumstances.

“See something, say something,” Acosta said.