Police Blotter – March 14, 2014

[Reprinted from The Richmond Police Station Newsletter of March 14, 2014. To be added to the station’s mailing list, email sfpd.richmond.station@sfgov.org.]

CAPTAIN SIMON SILVERMAN’S MESSAGE
Richmond Station periodically gets requests for us to install stop signs, signal lights, speed bumps and other traffic control measures. The process of deciding whether and where to install traffic control devices is actually the responsibility of the SF Municipal Transportation Agency. So if you would like to request traffic control measures for a specific area, please go to SFMTA.com and click the link for services.

Our next Community meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 18, 2014 at 6pm. It will be in the Community Room, here at Richmond Station, 461 6th Ave.

NOTEWORTHY ARRESTS
On 03/08/14 at 11am, neighbors reported a possible theft from a garage on the 3000 block of Washington St. A garage door was open and the neighbor saw a suspicious male with a cart in front of the garage with property that looked like it had been stolen. The suspect had walked away and was being followed by another party who was on the phone with 911, updating the location. Officers detained the male on Sacramento and Divisadero. The caller told officers that he had observed the male with items in his cart that the suspect began to discard as he was walking away. One was a blue folding camping chair. As the officers continued their investigation they were approached by a woman who lives on the 2100 block of Baker St. She told the officers that she was in her home and heard knocking coming from inside her garage. She opened an interior door that lead to the garage and saw that the garage door was now open. She saw no one inside and shut the door. A short time later she left and saw the commotion and the police officers. She saw that her blue camping chair was out on the sidewalk and informed the officers that the chair should be in her garage. The suspect was also in possession of a tennis racket that had been taken from her as well. Although there was no evidence that the suspect entered the garage on the 3000 block of Washington, he was in possession of numerous items that may have been taken from elsewhere. The 55yr old male was charged with burglary and possession of burglary tools and stolen property.

On 03/09/14 at 4:50pm, officers responded to a call of a road rage incident where the victim was following the suspect’s vehicle. Officers caught up to the suspect and 23rd and Geary and detained him. The victim told the officers that the incident originated on Pine near Scott St and ended up with the suspect throwing an object at the victim’s vehicle. The officers with the suspect’s consent searched his vehicle and found a billy club, BB gun, a crossbow, a taser, pepper spray and an axe. The 54 year old male was charged with weapon violations.

On 03/10/14 at 6:30pm, the victim was on a westbound 38 Geary MUNI bus. When it came to a stop at Geary and Divisadero, the suspect grabbed the victim’s phone from her hand and fled. The victim gave chase, screaming as she ran after the suspect. A passerby called 911 and provided a description and direction of the two. When they got to the area of Broderick and Garden the suspect suddenly stopped and said he had a gun on him and he would hurt her if she caused a scene. The victim begged for her phone and the suspect told her she had to give him money to get her phone back. As she had no cash, they walked to a nearby ATM machine where she withdrew money and gave it to the suspect. Police arrived on scene and the male told the officers that this was a “domestic dispute.” The victim told the officers that in fact she did not know the male and he had robbed her on the bus. The 19yr old was charged with robbery and extortion.

On 03/11/14 at 4:26am, officers conducted a traffic stop at Washington and Divisadero. The driver had a suspended license and was on probation. Officer located in his possession 11 different credit and debit cards belonging to other people. Officers were able to contact some of the victims who had been victims of thefts, auto burglary and a robbery. These dated back to 2012. The 44 year old male was charged with possession of stolen property, an outstanding warrant and a probation violation.

NOTEWORTHY INCIDENTS
On 03/07/14 at 4:50am, officers were called to the 3100 block of Sacramento St on a report of a burglary in progress. A neighbor called stating he was hearing noises from the house next door which was under construction. The caller also reported that there was a strange white van parked in front of the house. Officers arrived and set up a perimeter and conducted a walkthrough of the home. They located a small flashlight which was illuminate in the backyard however the suspect had fled the scene on foot. The contractor arrived and found that many tools had been taken from a box and placed on the ground. The front door appeared to have been pried open. In the van parked out in front were numerous power tools and copper wiring. The registered owner of the van was contacted and he stated he sold the van six months onhealthy order yasmin ago. The van was towed pending further investigation.

On 03/07/14 between 7:30am and 8pm on the 1600 block of Pierce St, a suspect entered an apartment through an unlocked front door. The loss was a suitcase, laptop and stereo speaker.

On 03/07/14 between 12pm and 5pm on the 500 block of 12th Ave, a suspect entered a home by prying open the front door. The suspect took two laptops and an iPod.

On 03/07/14 at 1:40pm, the 88 year old victim was home on the 200 block of 8th Ave when his doorbell rang. He opened the front door and saw a male at the bottom of the steps, behind the locked gate. The male said he was working on the plumbing next door and needed to check the backyard for leaks. The male was insistent and the victim finally let him in. He brought the male to the rear door which leads to the yard and then had to sit as he was feeling winded. The suspect had gone into the yard but quickly came back in, opened the front door and let in the second suspect. The first male said he now needed to go check upstairs for leaks and as the victim tried to stop him; the second male stood in his way and began to distract him by talking about a photo displayed in the victim’s home. The victim became tired and sat down in a chair on the front porch, leaving the suspects alone in the house for about a half hour. When they finally came back down stairs and passed him in the porch, the victim noticed one of the suspects was carrying a pillow case that appeared to be half full. The victim tried to grab the pillow case but was unsuccessful and the suspects fled. They entered a black newer model Toyota mini-van. The victim then called his daughter who came home. They discovered there was a loss of jewelry and cash. The suspects were described as Hispanic or Middle Eastern males, both wearing blue shirts and blue jeans.

On 03/08/14 at 1:15am on the unit block of 6th Ave, a resident of a home heard the garage door open. The residents went downstairs and found the door partially open and the victim’s bike was gone. When they looked outside they saw a silver hatchback driving down the street, but could not see who was driving.

On 03/08/14 at 1:55am, the two victims were walking west on Cabrillo at 35th Ave when they noticed they were being followed by 5-7 Hispanic males. When the suspects approached the two, one of them asked for a dollar. They told the suspects that they had no money. At that point one of the victims was pushed against the wall and a suspect brandished a knife and demanded his property. A second suspect reached in and took his phone from his pocket. The suspect with the knife grabbed the second victim and demanded his property but he had none. The suspects then fled north on 35th Ave. There were all between 18-25yrs and the suspect with the knife was wearing bandana and a dark colored hooded sweatshirt.

Between 03/09/14, 6pm and 03/10/14, 6am on the 200 block of Willard North, a suspect was able to get into a garage through a locked gate. The suspect took a laptop and a bike.

Between 03/09/14, 9pm and 03/10/14, 1am on the 2500 block of Sutter, a suspect entered an apartment and took jewelry, 3 laptops, a desktop computer, 2 TV’s and game consoles. One of the victim’s had lost their keys a few days prior and there was no sign of forced entry.

On 03/10/14 at 1:12pm, a caller reported a male and female in a fight on the 400 block of Clement St. The caller also reported that the male had a gun and shot into the air. The area was searched as well as two addresses on 5th Ave that the suspect may have fled to but no one in those residences matched the description. The suspect was described as an Asian male, 30-35yrs wearing all dark clothing.

On 03/10/14 at 1:37am, the victim was walking south on 11th Ave towards Clement. Prior to reaching Clement the suspect ran up to him with a gun in his hand and said “Where’s your car, give me your keys now.” The victim said the suspect then fired two shots into the air. The victim told the suspect he did not have a car and then ran from the area to get away from the suspect. The suspect fled west on Clement St and was described as an Asian male, 16-25yrs with short hair, wearing a black shirt and dark jeans. This incident is not related to the one from the 400 block of Clement St.

On 03/10/14 between 6:30pm and 9:30pm on the 700 block of 6th Ave, a suspect entered a home by using a spare key that was kept under the mat. The suspect took two laptops, two tablets and a camera.

On 03/11/14, between 1:30pm and 2pm on the 3000 block of California, a suspect entered a residence while the victim was in the shower. The suspect took a wallet containing cash and credit cards. There were no signs of forced entry and when the victim contacted her bank to report the theft, one of her credit cards had already been used at a gas station.