[Reprinted from The Richmond Police Station Newsletter of June 17, 2011. To be added to the station’s mailing list, email sfpd.richmond.station@sfgov.org.]
CAPTAIN KEITH SANFORD’S MESSAGE
Some most recent concerns in the District have been residential/automobile burglaries as well as strong arm robberies (the use of force) and graffiti. We have increased our efforts by saturation of plainclothes officers in those areas of reported break-ins, uniform officers patrolling targeted venues and traffic enforcements operations. We had a residential burglary where a suspect was inside the home of the victim upon their return to the house. The victim with assistance of community members held the suspect until the police arrived. This suspect was a parolee in violation of his parole thus an additional charge was added to his arrest sheet. We are focusing on the identification of parolees and probation violators who frequent our district as they tend to be the individuals who are committing most of our crimes.
The strong arm robberies by use of force have been in the evening hours when individuals are walking home or waiting for a bus. These incidents are opportunistic for the suspects as they seek out victims that usually are by themselves. They will approach the victim from behind, grab the victim’s property and flee on foot. Some suspects have been seen running to a waiting vehicle after the crime. The other situation is the victim is overpowered by two or more suspects who take the property from the victim by means of physical force.
It is very important to be aware of your surroundings. Try to frequent well lighted areas or walk with a friend. Keep your cell phones in your pocket or bags as suspects have focus on grabbing phones out of the hands of victims while the victim is talking on the phone.
Graffiti has been a frequent complaint in the district. It is vastly important to report all criminal activity that is observed in an expeditious manner. If a criminal is observed committing a crime of robbery, burglary, auto break-in or graffiti call 911. The response by community member/citizens will result in the reduction of crime in our area. Graffiti must be cleaned immediately after a report is made to the police so the tagger(s) understands that it is not tolerated in our city.
An issue that was brought to my attention is the solicitation of electronic items from TVs, phones and computers to be dropped off at a specific location, date and time. The communication (flyer) asks that telephone numbers and names to be left with the items. First, one should not place items such as the ones listed above in areas throughout the streets or parking lots in the city. There are locations to bring electronic items for recycle. The second issue is you can be the focus of a complaint by another if observed dumping items.
NOTEWORTHY ARRESTS
On 06/11 at 8:35pm, plainclothes officers were in the area of Fulton & 6th Ave. They observed the suspect with a spray paint can in his hand, walk up to a digital roadway sign. The officers observed him graffiti the back of the sign and when they approached him, he took off running. The officers chased the suspect and detained him on the 400 block of Cabrillo. The officers located the same “tag” in several other locations along Fulton St. The 28 year old male was charged with vandalism.
On 06/12 at 2:13am, a shooting occurred on the 3500 block of Geary Bl. The suspects fled in a vehicle which was later stopped by officers. Two suspects were charged and the investigation is on going. The victim was hospitalized with non life threatening injuries.
On 06/13 at 12:40am, two suspects forced their way into an apartment on the 3400 block of Geary. The suspects then beat and robbed the victim, striking him with a hammer. The suspects fled the scene, but one was identified and arrested later in the day.
On 06/15 at 1:30pm, on the 1700 block of Pierce St the victim came home for lunch and noticed her dog was acting peculiar. The dog kept looking towards the bedroom and the victim saw that her bedroom door, which she had closed prior to going to work, was now open. She looked into the bedroom and saw some of her belongings strewn on the bed. As she entered her room she looked into her closet and saw the suspect looking through her things. The victim yelled at the suspect who then ran out of the house. The victim then ran after him screaming for help. Several persons heard her and chased after the suspect. One neighbor caught up with the suspect on the 2400 block of Bush St. and tackled him to the ground. With the assistance of another neighbor, the two men held the suspect down until the police arrived. The 48 year old male, who was also a wanted parolee, was charged with burglary and possession of stolen property.
NOTEWORTHY INCIDENTS
On 06/12 at 11:35pm, the victim was aboard a 38 Geary MUNI line which had just stopped at Geary and Arguello. The victim had her cell phone in her hand as the two female suspects passed her in the aisle. One of the suspects tried to grab the phone from the victim and a struggle ensued. The suspect then ripped the phone from the victims hand and passed it to the second suspect. The second suspect fled the bus with the phone as other passengers on the bus attempted to detain the first suspect. The passengers had grabbed the back of the suspect’s jacket, which she was able to slip out of and flee. The suspects fled north on Palm Ave. The were described as being in their early twenties, the first suspect wearing a white t-shirt and black sweatpants with writing on the side. The second female was wearing a black and gray scarf, sunglasses and a black hooded sweatshirt.
On 06/15 at 10:30pm, the victim was in the Laundromat on the 2600 block of McAllister. He was working on his laptop when the two suspects entered the business. One of the suspects grabbed his laptop while the other wrapped his arm around the victim’s neck. There was a short struggle and the suspects fled with the laptop, south onto Parsons. The suspects were observed getting into a dark colored sedan and fleeing the scene.