Central Police Station reports that for the first half of August (Aug. 1–14), nearly all categories of crime in Central’s turf was down significantly.
Compared to the first half of August 2018, there were reductions in homicides (down from one to 0); rape (one to 0); robbery (49 to 23); assault (20 to 7); burglary (119 to 20); larceny theft, including thefts from vehicles (2,050 to 560); and motor vehicle theft (39 to 10). On the other hand, arsons increased from 0 to six.
Here’s a sampling of recent crimes in the districts covered by the Central and Northern SFPD stations.
THE TRASHMAN COMETH
Aug. 14, 2:28 a.m.
900 Block of Fulton Street
Patrol officers noticed a garage door left wide open; a subject then exited the garage carrying two large trash bags. He didn’t close the garage door and he did not put the bags in the garbage cans in front of the residence, so naturally the officers believed a burglary was being committed.
The subject was detained, and even before the officers could begin questioning him, he admitted to removing the bags from the garage without permission. He was arrested and searched, which turned up burglary tools and narcotic paraphernalia. He was booked for multiple charges.
PAIN IN THE STOMACH
Aug. 14, 11:03 a.m.
Greenwich and Gough Streets
An auto boost in progress drew the response of officers, who — thanks to a reported description of the person — located the subject while they were en route. He was detained without incident. A nearby witness said he had seen the subject casing vehicles earlier, and the subject had pulled a bag out of a vehicle and had rummaged through the bag in a stairwell.
The witness positively identified the subject as the thief. The subject complained of stomach pain, and he was transported to San Francisco General Hospital, and he was subsequently booked at County Jail.
FAST FOOD SHOOTOUT
Aug. 10, 11:40 p.m.
1100 Fillmore Street
Four people were shot during an incident in the McDonald’s parking lot. Officers located two of the victims sitting on the ground; they were quickly transported to the hospital to have their injuries tended to. Three parked vehicles had bullet damage. In one of the vehicles officers found a gunshot victim in the passenger seat, and he was transported to the hospital. Inside a second vehicle was the fourth gunshot victim, who was also sent to the hospital.
Inside that second vehicle officers found a backpack believed to belong to the victim; they opened it in an attempt to identify the victim, and they found a black semiautomatic pistol with an extended magazine. Due to the firearm’s concealment in the backpack and in the car under the control of the arrested subject, officers arrested him for possession of a loaded firearm.
At press time, the investigation was ongoing. The suspect who committed the actual shooting is still outstanding.
SPEED IS EVERYTHING
Aug. 10, 6 p.m.
Lombard and Pierce Streets
Police officers spotted a vehicle driving at a high rate of speed, but they did not pursue it due to the risk it posed to pedestrians; they called in the incident to advise the police dispatcher of the reckless vehicle.
They continued their patrol and a few blocks away were waved down by pedestrians, who pointed to the scene of a hit-and-run injury accident that involved the same vehicle spotted earlier. Witnesses said they saw a suspect flee the area, armed with a firearm. An officer later found the firearm a block away from the incident — a subject was standing two feet away from the weapon pretending to tie his shoe. He then fled but was quickly apprehended. Plainclothes officers then located a second suspect, but they could not get a positive cold-show identification, so the second suspect was only arrested for resisting arrest, pending retrieval of video surveillance and further investigation.
The victim of the hit-and-run sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
CAR WINDOW SHOPPING
July 18, 2.22 p.m.
Palace of Fine Arts
Officers conducting surveillance at the Palace of Fine Arts saw a vehicle slowly driving through the parking lot, casing vehicles. One subject got out of the car and stood next to someone’s vehicle; the police officers heard the sound of glass breaking and they approached the subject, seeing half of his body inside the vehicle with his legs hanging out the window. They ordered the subject out of the vehicle and saw a window punch in one of his hands — the other hand held property belonging to the victim. He was arrested after the victims arrived on the scene and identified their property, but the driver of the subject’s vehicle escaped by driving away at high speed.
BRIEFLY NOTED
Aug. 12, 11:45 a.m., 100 block of Powell Street: Someone approached a victim and demanded money; the victim refused, and the suspect forcefully ripped a watch off of the victim’s wrist.
Aug. 12, 11:53 p.m., 300 block of Bay Street: Business owners found a damaged window; upon entering, they discovered that the register was open and money was missing.
Aug. 11, 1:00 a.m., Post and Mason Streets: A suspect robbed a victim and then pepper sprayed the victim after he tried to retrieve his wallet; the suspect was
arrested.
Aug. 10: 9:42 p.m., unit block of Taylor Street: A suspect threatened a victim with a chain; the suspect was arrested.
Aug. 10, 8:16 p.m., Beckett at Jackson Streets: A suspect attacked a victim with a stick; suspect was arrested.
