This week, Hoodline takes a look back at highlights from the 1,500 stories we told in 2014, from bar and restaurant openings to profiles of local residents to our biggest neighborhood controversies. Today's focus: crimes and calamities.
Stabbings and shootings, collisions and kerfuffles: today, we're taking a look at the chaos that befell our area this year. Read on for a neighborhood-by-neighborhood look at Hoodline's crime and calamity coverage — and we recommend holding onto some of that holiday cheer if you can.
Lower Haight
In the Lower Haight, the year started off with the Jan. 7th hit and run of a cyclist at Oak and Scott, followed by a shots-fired incident at Haight and Webster on Jan. 22nd.
On Feb. 10th, we marked the one-year anniversary of Ernesto "Xe" Acosta's murder. He was killed in an apparent drive-by shooting near the intersection of Webster and Hayes in February 2013. No arrests have been made.
Photo: Facebook/Your Memories of Ernesto Xe Acosta
February also saw the ridiculous kerfuffle at Molotov's involving Google Glass. We'll let you relive that one on your own if you so choose.
Various robberies and break-ins occurred in the late February to late March timeframe, but the neighborhood was otherwise relatively quiet. In April, a Page Street resident was found dead inside his home, under circumstances which the medical examiner deemed suspicious. There have been no updates since then, however.
May saw a spate of terrible driving in the neighborhood, while June brought news crews to Mad Dog in the Fog after an FBI fugitive popped in to use the ATM. We also wondered who (or what) might be tipping over the neighborhood's motorcycles.
July was a chaotic month in the neighborhood, starting on the 5th when two cars parked on Scott Street were smashed by an S.U.V.
Reader Susan M.
Later in the month, shots were fired in the area near Rose Street and Buchanan, though no one was injured. On July 30th, a joyrider stole a truck from the 55 Laguna construction site and led police on a destructive chase through the Mission, ending in multiple charges for the suspect.
In August, 31-year-old Bryan Higgins, aka Feather Lynn, was murdered at Church and Duboce. (see more in the Castro/Duboce Triangle section below).
Scott Street saw more vehicular discord on Aug. 20th, as a CPMC shuttle and Muni bus collided at the Haight Street intersection.
In late September, a man was robbed at gunpoint near the intersection of Page and Steiner, and a Haight and Divisadero resident potentially lost vision in one eye after allegedly being assaulted with a hammer by an Uber driver.
October was remarkably peaceful. (Thanks, Giants?)
Disorder was restored early in the morning of Nov. 13th, when 20-year-old Malcolm Armstrong was stabbed multiple times on Haight and Buchanan, and later succumbed to his injuries. The next day, police arrested 24-year-old San Francisco resident Johnathan Dean on suspicion of the crime. An avid skater, Armstrong is remembered in a tribute video created by his friends.
YouTube / Hungrie Ones
Finally, in December, we rounded up various recent thefts and robberies in the neighborhood, and on Christmas Day a car crashed into Animal House after its brakes apparently failed. Fortunately no one was hurt.
Hayes Valley
January got off to a tragic start in the Hayes Valley area. 21-year-old Jose Manuel Puc-Muy was found fatally stabbed early on Jan. 6th in the lobby of an apartment building at Market and Octavia. We reached out to SFPD to check on the case, and they told us that 38-year-old SF resident Wilmer Blanco was booked on murder charges for the killing.
The very next day, a male pedestrian was fatally struck by a vehicle near the corner of Van Ness and Grove. And later in the month, a cyclist was injured in a hit-and-run at Market and Octavia.
Hayes Valley saw a spate of muggings over the first weekend of February, and a hit-and-run seriously injured another pedestrian at Van Ness and Grove on Feb. 5th, roughly the same location as January's collision. A deceased person was found in Koshland Park on February 7th; medical examiners determined that no foul play was involved.
After a quiet March, yet another pedestrian was struck by a vehicle at Haight and Octavia on April 4th, with police this time saying that intoxication may have been a factor.
We rounded up some recent Hayes Valley crimes in May, including multiple shootings, a mugging, and the theft of a laptop from musician Sean Lennon's van.
Photo: Sean Ono Lennon / Instagram
In July we found no joy in surveying Hayes Valley's many dangerous intersections.
A shooting occurred in the middle of the day on July 18th near the playground at Hayes and Buchanan, injuring a 16-year-old male who was later booked into the Juvenile Justice Center on charges of firearm possession. The incident prompted a safety walk organized by Supervisor London Breed, as well as the revival of neighborhood foot patrols by the SFPD.
Yet another collision occurred at Oak and Octavia on Aug. 20th, after a driver ran a red light and broadsided a van; three people were taken to the hospital.
Photo: Twitter / Matt Graves
After a quiet September, October proved to be a terrible month on the streets of Hayes Valley.
On Oct. 7th, at least four cars were involved in a collision at Fulton and Laguna that injured two people. A week later, three burglars crashed their stolen Jeep into a taxi at Lily and Octavia, again resulting in two injuries.
On the morning of Oct. 23rd, an apparent drunk driver crashed into a vacant corner store and a parked car at Hayes and Fillmore, while later that day a pedestrian died after being hit by a tour bus at Polk and McAllister.
A particularly violent night of muggings took place on Nov. 6th. Finally, on Nov. 13th, the aforementioned murder of Malcolm Armstrong took place on Buchanan, which some consider the dividing line between the Lower Haight and Hayes Valley.
Divisadero/NoPa/Western Addition
The year in crime started off wonderfully slow in the neighborhood, but March 4th saw a shooting on Baker Street between Hayes and Fell, which left a 28-year-old male victim with non life-threatening injuries.
In April a small fire broke out at above El Rancho Grande on Divisadero, but damage was kept to a minimum.
Photo: Stephen Jackson / Hoodline
Later in the month, we reported that Park Station police had begun using bait bikes to stem a rising tide of bicycle thefts in the area.
Early June saw a gunpoint mugging and "hot prowl" (SFPD's terminology) in the neighborhood, but things stayed relatively calm for most of the summer.
In August we caught tow trucks blocking the Fell Street bike lane, a safety hazard that sparked intervention by our local SFPD Captain Raj Vaswani and Supervisor London Breed.
On Aug. 31, a midday road rage shooting at Divisadero and Golden Gate left one man with critical injuries. Police later announced that they had arrested 25-year-old Easy Chang on suspicion of attempted murder in the incident.
Mid-September saw two strange stories of vehicular mayhem within 24 hours. First, on Sept. 18th, a woman took a DPT officer on a terrifying ride on the hood of her car after he began issuing her a parking ticket near Hayes and Broderick. The woman struck a motorcycle and another vehicle as she drove all the way to Market and Octavia with the officer still clinging to her hood. There she was finally stopped by SFPD. She was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and misdemeanor hit-and-run.
Photo: Reader Allison Y.
The next morning, on the 19th, a car flipped onto its side at Oak and Divisadero — fortunately no one was hurt.
On Sept. 29th, a group of 16 squatters was evicted from a boarded-up building on Fulton Street.
October saw an uptick in crime, with a string of attacks on cyclists in the Panhandle breaking out and eventually totaling six incidents. Police recently announced that an arrest had been made in the case.
On the night of Oct. 18th, a small oven fire broke out at The Mill, and many burnt toast jokes were made. Ten days later, NoPa saw some action when a stolen car crashed into someone's planter at Lyon and Hayes.
Photo: Reader Matt F.
As the year came to an end, things once again turned violent. On Nov. 1st, a shooting at Divisadero and Eddy left 18-year-old Iry Bivins dead. No arrests have been made.
Finally, on Dec. 10th, police reported that a 25-year-old man was shot at Turk and Pierce streets, and was sent to the hospital in critical condition. SFPD reports that the victim survived, but that no arrests have been made in the still-active investigation.
Upper Haight
The first of several Buena Vista Park-related crimes this year occurred on Jan. 15th, with a stabbing at Baker and Haight. A 40-year-old man sustained non-life threatening injuries; no arrests were made.
January also saw local media reporting a trend of Upper Haight merchants being bitten by transients' dogs, while a mysterious explosion on the 27th near Haight and Belvedere may or may not have been an M-80.
Photo: Twitter / xunspokenliesx
In late February, a rash of burglaries had the neighborhood on high alert, while Buena Vista Park saw another stabbing on Mar. 27th (again, injuries were non-life threatening, and no one was arrested).
On Apr. 4th, a window-smasher was apprehended after sending bricks through the glass of four retail storefronts.
Photo: Camden Avery / Hoodline
April also boasted a particularly active week of car thefts and break-ins, and one backpack snatching caught on camera.
In May we examined what happens — or doesn't — when someone is issued a trespassing citation.
June 18th saw a shooting at Haight and Stanyan that left one "transient" male victim shot in the leg. On June 23rd, an apartment robbery ended happily when the the neighborhood banded together to catch the culprit.
On July 28th, yet another stabbing took place, this time when a would-be shoplifter stabbed a security guard in the arm at the Haight Street Whole Foods. A few days later, on July 31st, an arrest was made after a man allegedly sexually assaulted and attempted to rob a customer at Earthsong at Haight and Cole. The month ended with more windows being broken at a couple of Haight Street storefronts.
On Aug. 20th, a man was stabbed on Haight between Clayton and Cole. The assailant was later arrested in the Panhandle near Oak and Shrader.
In September and October, major crime in the neighborhood took a break, and for that we were grateful.
In November we learned of a couple of Cole Valley scam artists making the rounds, and on Nov. 28th, a bout of minor chaos prompted police action at Haight and Belvedere.
Finally, a collapsed sewer was to blame for a large sinkhole which opened up at the intersection of Belvedere and Grattan in early December.
Photo: Eric Eldon / Hoodline
Castro/Duboce Triangle
The new year got off to a rough start for the driver of a truck which toppled over on Castro and 23rd on January 6th, crushing a pickup truck. Later in the month, we learned that a plant thief was plaguing Duboce Triangle.
In February the city's dog owners were put on alert as poisoned meatballs resurfaced, this time near Twin Peaks. That month also saw a knifepoint robbery of a local Castro merchant on Market Street.
The Ides of March lived up to its grim reputation with a stabbing in Dolores Park, while 4/20 was anything but mellow for the cop who was dragged by a fleeing getaway car on Castro Street (fortunately, the officer was not seriously hurt).
A dramatic house fire struck Walter Street in Duboce Triangle on April 22nd, causing $3 million in damage and displacing 10.
In May, an 18-wheeler crashed into a funeral home on Market Street, while Noe Street's much-abused Little Free Library suffered its first indignity, getting stolen by an unknown miscreant. The L.F.L. would be smashed, looted, and set aflame over the course of the year.
Photo: Julie McCollough / Hoodline
The annual Pink Saturday celebration turned violent, as one of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and her husband were assaulted at Castro and 18th. And June ended with a bang, as a Mercedes slammed into Cliff's Variety on the final day of the month.
July saw a home invasion and gunpoint robbery at Castro and 19th, while the SFPD warned of a scam involving clipboard-wielding Boys and Girls Club impostors. In August, three suspects were arrested after a shooting following a bar fight.
On August 10th, Bryan Higgins, a 31-year-old Noe Street resident also known as Feather Lynn, was found unconscious around 7:30am at Church and Duboce. The victim of an assault, Higgins was transported to the hospital and later in the week was taken off life support. Though police released footage of a person of interest in the homicide, no arrests have been made.
Photo: Facebook / Feather Lynn
September and October were mercifully quiet, aside from some remarkably poor driving by a wayward carjacker on Castro Street.
Then, on the morning of Nov. 24th, another murder took place, this time at Noe and Henry streets, where 21-year-old Michael Marquez was shot during a robbery by a group of five male suspects. As of early December, police were seeking evidence from either personal or public video footage, and no arrests had been made.
Finally, in December, it appeared that a serial vehicle arsonist was on the loose.
That's it for our recap of the area's crimes and calamities in 2014. If you'd like an overview of the year 2013 in crime, here's the SFPD's full report. We'll let you know when the 2014 report is released.
