One of the biggest crime stories in the area this week was Tuesday's shooting of a Thai tourist on Russian Hill. According to the San Francisco Examiner, the San Francisco District Attorney’s office filed charges of attempted murder and robbery, among other charges, against Brian Fox, 24, and Eric Espanol, 25, in superior court Friday.
In other news from the DA's office, the suspect who was apprehended by four Italian tourists who said they saw him breaking into a car near Lombard and Leavenworth streets on Aug. 11th was not charged. Spokesperson Alex Bastian told Hoodline that they were unable to charge him due to the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which essentially says in any criminal prosecution, the defendant has the right to confront a witness or victim face to face. "There are challenges when a case is limited, when victims are from out of the country," Bastian said.
That doesn't mean all tourist-involved crimes are not prosecuted, he clarified: “In other cases, we have been working with the San Francisco Police Department in finding creative ways to be able to arrest and prosecute offenders as it relates to these type of cases.” And, he added, "If a tourist is from out of state, it’s not uncommon for us to fly people in.” But for a victim or witness from out of the country, it's cost-prohibitive.
Meanwhile, testimony began this week in the trial of Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, charged with the murder of Kathryn Steinle on Pier 14 on July 1st. The Examiner wrote that evidence was presented indicating the bullet ricocheted off of the pavement. The case has sparked a national debate on immigration and the city and county's sanctuary ordinance.
In Central Station Capt. David Lazar's Captain's Newsletter this week, he wrote about the Russian Hill shooting and also noted that during a traffic enforcement operation on Sansome and Green streets this month, officers issued a a total of 80 citations to motorists. He also informed readers that “Chinatown Night Out” will be held at 5pm Tuesday in Portsmouth Square. It's similar to the National Night Out that was held Aug. 4th.
And now, here's a look at recent crime incidents in our neighborhoods, as reported in recaps from SFPD:
A call came in at 5:22pm Aug. 22nd after a man, 36, saw a suspect, age 16–18, put cosmetics in her bag and attempt to walk out of a store in the 1000 block of Hyde Street in Polk Gulch. The man stopped her at the store door and tried to retrieve the property, but the suspect called out to another suspect, a man age 18–19, who held the victim. The suspects fled the scene with the goods.
A kidnapping happened at 7pm Aug. 22nd at Battery Street and Pacific Avenue in the FiDi. A woman, 27, and man, 39, got in an argument while attempting to park their car, a gray Toyota Corolla. The man told the woman he was going to drive her son, age 6, to her sister’s house in the San Jose area. The woman was standing outside of the car when she slammed the car door and the man drove off. She called police, and the man pulled over in Burlingame and waited for officers to arrive. He was taken into custody without incident.
A youth, age 17, and man, age 57, were injured in a hit-and-run at 11:36pm Aug. 23rd at Francisco and Powell streets in Fisherman's Wharf. They entered the intersection in their vehicle when a man driving a black Dodge Durango eastbound on Francisco Street failed to stop at the stop sign and struck their vehicle on the driver side. The suspect fled the scene on foot. The 17-year-old had bruising and pain, and the 57-year-old had pain to his ribs and knee; they were taken to San Francisco General Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
On the unit block of Fourth Street (the first block south of Market Street) in the FiDi at 12:30am Aug. 24th, a female suspect, age 25–30, stabbed a man, age 50, in the stomach with an unknown sharp object after he accused her of taking his money. She then fled the scene. He was taken to San Francisco General Hospital with a non-life-threatening puncture wound.
A woman was withdrawing money from the ATM on the unit block of Powell Street (the first block north of Market Street) around 7pm Aug. 24th when a man in his thirties pushed her and withdrew money from her account using her ATM card. He fled on foot with the stolen cash.
At 7:45pm Aug. 25th in the 300 block of Bay Street, a man, 35, went inside a store to the liquor aisle and stole a box of wine. A man, 53, followed him outside and confronted him. The suspect then struck him in the back of the neck/head area with an unknown metal object and fled the scene. The victim was transported to San Francisco General Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
ABC7 Bay City News reports that the manager of the Rainforest Cafe at Fisherman's Wharf was tied up and robbed at gunpoint at around 1am Aug. 28th. The suspect took money from the restaurant's safe.
In other Wharf crime, the offices of Fisherman's Wharf Community Benefit District were robbed last week and computers and a Segway were stolen, just a day before the Polk Gulch campaign headquarters of Aaron Peskin were also broken into and robbed of computers.
