The suspect in an attack on a North Beach woman in July has been released after evidence showed he had an airtight alibi and a witness also ruled him out as being the suspect.
Blake Angus, 35, was arrested around 1:50am July 10th, not long after a woman reported being followed home from work and attacked after 1am on Varennes Street near Filbert Street. SFPD Capt. David Lazar said the victim identified him.
The red box is the attack site; the arrow is where the neighbors found the victim. Image: Morgan Giulianelli
Angus was charged with false imprisonment and bail was set at $50,000. He gave his address as 720 Columbus Ave., the then-location of the homeless outreach group North Beach Citizens. Shortly after the incident, the nonprofit's executive director, Kristie Fairchild, told us Angus had used its services.
At the ribbon-cutting on Wednesday for the North Beach Citizens' new location (1034 Kearny St.), Fairchild said Angus had been released and visited the center. He told her he had been at a 24 Hour Fitness during the time of the attack, which uses a fingerprint scanner pad for member check-in. She said he also didn't fit the description of the suspect on the 911 call, who had a different build and ethnicity.
Alex Bastian, spokesman for the District Attorney's office, confirmed this, saying, "Through fingerprints, the 24 Hour Fitness location is able to tell when someone is there or not there." The timeline showed he checked in during the time the victim said she was being followed home. Also, an employee who was subpoenaed recognized Angus and testified he was there from 30 minutes before the incident to sometime later, he added.
Varennes Street near Filbert Street, where the attack took place. Photo: Geri Koeppel/Hoodline
In addition, Bastian said the first person to come out and chase after the attacker "ruled him out as the person who was the suspect in the incident." Bastian added, "He said he is not the person who committed the crime on the date and time in question." Based on the timeline and witness reports, the case was dropped.
Angus "was wrongfully picked up and held for 74 days, and was able to prove he was the wrong guy," Fairchild told us, saying it points to a larger issue about the frequent arrest of homeless residents. "Now he's really motivated to get a job," Fairchild said. "We'll get him off the streets."
