Castro Crime And Safety: Robberies, Bomb Scare, Suspicious Death

Castro Crime And Safety: Robberies, Bomb Scare, Suspicious DeathPhoto: Steven Bracco/Hoodline
Brian Ray
Published on September 28, 2015

Castro crime and safety news has been pretty varied in the two weeks since our previous roundup. In addition to a spate of robberies, the neighborhood also had a bomb scare and a suspicious death. Here's the latest.

Phone Store Robbery Ends In Arrests

The BAR reported on a Sept. 15th robbery at a phone shop on the 2100 block of Market Street. At 7:40pm, Dante Roper, 29, and Jasmine Ann Davis, 27, entered the shop and began to steal phones. A salesman and another man tried to stop the pair, causing Roper to attempt to punch the salesman. Roper and Davis fled, but were later detained and taken into custody.

Significant Accident At 18th And Noe

On September 18th, we reported on an accident at 18th and Noe Street. Around 4:30pm, a vehicle was rear-ended and pushed through the intersection and into a pole along 18th Street, causing glass and debris to fall over much of the area. The driver was injured and had to be carried out on a stretcher. We contacted the police for more information on the cause, and will update if we learn anything more.

Overnight Hot Prowl

On September 20th, a woman, 35, awoke around 1:45am to find that her laptop and cell phone had been stolen from her home on the 600 block of Church Street as she slept. No suspect has been identified.

Robbery At Gunpoint

A 25-year-old man was walking at Castro & States streets on September 20th at 12:55am when two men, 25-30, drove by and asked him if he was OK. The man kept walking, and about ten minutes later, the two men ran up to him and pointed a gun at him. They stole his cell phone, wallet, and keys, and fled in a silver four-door vehicle. The victim was not injured and no arrests were made.

Robbery With Force

On September 23rd, a man, 27, was tackled by another man on the 2000 block of Market Street (between Dolores and Guerrero) around 2am. The suspect stole the victim's wallet and fled on a bicycle. The victim had scrapes on his arms and elbows, but was not transported to the hospital. No arrest was made.

Bomb Scare At Noe And 17th

Also on the 23rd, multiple intersections were closed in the middle of the day after a suspicious package was reported at Noe and 17th Street. The bomb squad arrived with a K9 unit and robot to examine the device. No explosive was found, and the three-hour closure concluded around 2:20pm.

Suspicious Death On Sanchez Street

Last week, we reported on the September 23rd death of 51-year-old Peter Huerta, who resided at Sanchez between Duboce and 14th. Huerta was found face-down on his bed with his shirt torn; as a result, the Medical Examiner labeled the death as suspicious. An investigation is currently underway, and we'll keep you posted on any further news in the case. 

Home Intruder Steals Car

NextDoor user Kenna T. was asleep at her house with her boyfriend on September 26th. They awoke in the morning to find that someone had gone through their home and stolen their "2003 black Mercedes ML350 with a Burning Man ranger sticker on the back driver side window."


Let us know in the comments below if we missed anything, and continue to send in tips on safety news and/or crimes you may have witnessed here, or via Facebook and Twitter.