Police Blotter – April 2, 2014

[Reprinted from The Richmond Police Station Newsletter of April 2, 2014. To be added to the station’s mailing list, email sfpd.richmond.station@sfgov.org.]

CAPTAIN SIMON SILVERMAN’S MESSAGE
April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. Although it’s common sense that safe driving requires your undivided attention, officers regularly catch people doing things like texting, checking their e-mail, talking on the phone, shaving, putting on make-up, reading the paper and even making a sandwich while driving. If you’re reading this behind the wheel, stop!

Distracted driving is a contributing factor in many of our traffic collisions, but we aim to change this behavior through education and (for those who didn’t pay attention to our message or to their driving) through enforcement. The officers of Richmond Station issue citations for distracted driving all the time, and they don’t have to look too hard for violators, since most of them are too distracted to notice the police car and drive right by the officer.

Drivers are part of a road going community consisting of pedestrians, cyclists and other drivers. Being a responsible member of a community means looking out for others. Sometimes when people are in their cars they can forget that they are in public. People tend to think of their cars as an extension of their homes, and so they lose focus on the environment around them. Unfortunately, it only takes a momentary lapse in attention to cause a collision that hurts or kills someone.

As a reminder, I’ve listed the California vehicle code sections most commonly violated by distracted drivers. For more information visit http://www.distraction.gov/. Please drive safely!

23123(a) A person shall not drive a motor vehicle while using a wireless telephone unless that telephone is specifically designed and configured to allow hands-free listening and talking, and is used in that manner while driving.

23123.5(a) A person shall not drive a motor vehicle while using an electronic wireless communications device to write, send, or read a text–based communication, unless the electronic wireless communications device is specifically designed and configured to allow voice operated and hands-free operation to dictate, send, or listen to a text based communication, and it is used in that manner while driving.

23124(a) A person under the age of 18 years shall not drive a motor vehicle while using a wireless telephone or an electronic wireless communications device, even if equipped with a hands-free device.

22350 No person shall drive a vehicle upon a highway at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent … and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property.

This section is used for drivers who engage in any behavior that hampers their ability to drive safely like reading, shaving, putting on make-up, eating, and attending to children. This basic speed law says that one may never drive faster than is safe for current conditions – even if those conditions are created by the driver being inattentive.

Our next Community meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 15, 2014 at 6pm. It will be in the Community Room, here at Richmond Station, 461 6th Ave.

NOTEWORTHY ARRESTS
On 03/29/14 at 10:55pm officers responded to multiple calls of a loud party getting out of hand on the 600 block of 12th Ave. Some callers were reporting a large fight out in front; another caller reported hearing someone talking about a gun. When officers arrived on scene, additional callers were reporting that some of the party goers were hopping fences to escape. The officers spoke to two males that were behind the front gate and those two kept telling the officers that they were unable to open the gate from the inside, that they didn’t have the key. That was determined to be false and officers entered the home and detained several people inside the home and 40-50 in the backyard. Officers were unable to locate a weapon and dispersed the party. The father of the male that was having the party came home, unaware of what had occurred. The house was in complete disarray and there was broken furniture and alcoholic beverages. The two males who were initially contacted at the front gate were charged with delaying an investigation.

On 04/01/14 at 7:30pm, officers were called to an assault and a possible stabbing on the 1500 block of Broderick. When they arrived they located the victim who had a laceration to the side of her head. The victim told the officers that she was confronted by three females one that had a knife in her hand. They called her names and when she tried to enter her home, they grabbed her arm and prevented her from doing so. Two of the girls held her down and punched her while the other cut her in the side of her head with the knife. All three then fled the scene. Officers searched the area and as able to locate one of the suspects. The 25yr old female was charged with aggravated assault and conspiracy. The victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

On 04/03/14 at 12:55pm, the victim was sitting in the library on 9th Ave, working on her iPad. The suspect came from behind her, reached over her shoulder and grabbed the iPad. The suspect then fled with the victim chasing him and yelling for help. Members of the library staff and a patron chased after the suspect and were able to detain him at 11th Ave and Geary until officers arrived. The 40 year old male was charged with robbery. This is the same suspect who is mentioned in the “Noteworthy Arrest” section in the 03/20/14 newsletter. He was the suspect that was seen breaking into a Zip Car on the 300 block of 6th Ave, and opened the lift gate of another vehicle on Clement St when the owner was sitting in the car.

NOTEWORTHY INCIDENTS
On 03/20/14 at 11am the owner of a business on the 3000 block of Clement St received a call from a woman claiming that she was from PG&E. She told the victim that he needed to pay half an outstanding bill within the hour or his power would be cut off. The payment also needed to be paid by Green Dot MoneyPak cards and the amount was $900. The victim did what was asked and provided the caller with the card numbers to her at the phone number she provided. On 03/28/14 at 1:15pm, the victim received a call from a male at a different phone number telling him to pay $900. This time the victim thought it was suspicious and called PG&E directly. They told him he had been a victim of a scam and they would never call him for payment.

On 03/28/14 at 10:30am, the victim was home on the 2500 block of Balboa. His back steps lead up to his kitchen door which opens inward. He has his garbage cans in front of the door on the inside. He was sitting in his living room when he heard the back door hitting the garbage cans and went to investigate. He saw the suspect standing outside and asked what he wanted. The suspect said he was a maintenance worker that was hired by the landlord. The suspect then left. The victim then noticed the screen on the door window had been cut allowing the suspect to reach in and open the door. The victim contacted the landlord who said he had not hired any workers. The suspect was described as a white male with a 5 o’clock shadow, shaved head, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with a white design on it. He was also wearing flip flops and gardening gloves. There was no loss.

On 03/30/14 at 7:15am, near Spreckels Lake, the victim exited her vehicle, leaving it running. She was standing directly next to her vehicle near the driver’s side door and began doing exercises. The suspect then approached her, pushed her away from her vehicle, jumped into the driver’s seat and drove away. The suspect was described as a white male, 35-45yrs, wearing a light colored cap and a light colored shirt or jacket. The victim was uninjured.

On 03/30/14, between 9:10am and 11:30pm on the 2700 block of Pine St, a suspect entered an easement area on the side of a building and took a bike. The easement has a locked gate and there were no signs of forced entry.

On 03/31/14 at 9:40pm on the 2800 block of Jackson, the upstairs neighbor heard a loud noise and left her apartment to investigate. As she went down to the lower level apartment she saw that the front door looked unsecured. She yelled out her neighbor’s name and suddenly the apartment door burst open and three males came running out. The males all had hooded sweatshirts on that was covering the head and faces and they ran out of the building. The tenant of the lower unit was out of town and it appears that the front door had been kicked in. The witness told the officers that when the suspects ran out, it appeared they had nothing in their hands. The loss if any will be determined.

On 04/01/14, between 9:30am and 6:30pm, a suspect entered an apartment on the 2000 block of Post St by unknown means and took 2 laptops, 2 cell phones, a kindle and an ipad.