Eureka police arrest two men after violent construction site robbery

A construction worker was punched in the face after confronting two men who had stolen tools from a site near Grotto and E Street, and Eureka police say both suspects were arrested after a fast neighborhood search.

Officers were sent to the area at about 2:40 p.m. May 5 after reports that two male suspects had taken several tools from the construction site. Police say that when an employee confronted them, one suspect struck the worker in the face, causing an injury. Both men then fled westbound on bicycles along Grotto Street.

The victim identified one suspect as Sandro Ramirez-Uribe, 46, of Eureka. Police later identified the second suspect as Moises Bandabalmaceda, 33, also of Eureka. Officers canvassing the neighborhood found Ramirez-Uribe soon after the robbery report, while Bandabalmaceda was later discovered hiding under a shed in a backyard and was taken into custody without incident.

Both men were booked on charges of robbery and conspiracy to commit a crime. They were transported to the Humboldt County Correctional Facility in Eureka, which jail records place at 826 4th Street. The county’s jail reports page says the facility can be reached at (707) 441-5159, and the Eureka Police Department’s Citizen RIMS portal says arrest records are public but may lag behind court filings or later updates.

The case underscores how quickly a theft at a live job site can become a safety issue for workers in a visible commercial part of Eureka. Tool thefts can hit contractors hard, but this incident went further: it turned into an assault that left an employee injured, interrupted work, and forced police to search nearby blocks, backyards, and outbuildings in a matter of hours. For small crews working along busy streets, that mix of theft and violence carries immediate costs in lost time, medical attention, and a heightened sense of vulnerability on the job.