Our aim is to keep neighbors informed of crime and quality-of-life issues in the neighborhoods we cover. We won't be covering every on-the-street incident or mugging, but we'll do our best to give readers a snapshot of what's been going on.
Here's a selection of crimes that took place in the Hayes Valley neighborhood during the past month. All details are pulled from the SFPD's daily crime recaps and Northern Station's monthly newsletter.
Purse Snatching
A 37-year-old woman was robbed in the early hours of September 18th, as she walked down the sidewalk near Oak and Laguna streets. Her purse was snatched from her shoulder by a young man in his 20s, who fled the scene by bicycle.
Robbery With Force
On September 10th at 9:25pm, a 29-year-old man was checking emails on his smartphone while standing on the 200 block of Haight Street. He was approached from behind by an 18-year-old male suspect, who grabbed his cell phone and fled the scene on foot. SFPD managed to locate and arrest the suspect and recover the phone.
Store Robbery
At approximately 6pm on September 15th, a 47-year-old female shopkeeper was attacked by a man robbing her store on the unit block of Franklin. The suspect held the shopkeeper to the ground while he raided the cash register, injuring her neck, lip and jaw. He left the scene on foot.
Theft And Assault By Skateboarder
On September 14th at 2:10am, a 24-year-old male had his wallet stolen out of his back pocket as he walked down the street at Market and Gough. He confronted the suspect, whose friend then hit the victim in the head with a skateboard. When he fell to the ground, the suspects hit him again, took money from his pockets and ran down Market Street.
Assault and Attempted Robbery
Just two days later, on September 16th, another assault and robbery took place on Market Street, this time at Fell. A 50-year-old woman was walking down the street in the early hours of the morning with a shopping cart when she was approached by a man who tried to go through her pockets. When she tried to run away, the suspect pushed her to the ground and began punching her, demanding her property. In the end, the suspect didn't steal anything, fleeing the scene.
Aggravated Assault Of An Elder
A 72-year-old man was assaulted in his home on Linden Street on September 5th around 4am. The victim stated that three men in their 30s entered his house and beat him up, resulting in facial injuries and lost teeth. No items were immediately noticed to have been stolen. The victim was transported to San Francisco General Hospital.
Bathroom Phone Theft
A phone was stolen from an employee-only bathroom at a restaurant on the 300 block of Fulton Street on the afternoon of September 1st. An employee mistakenly left the phone in the bathroom, and when she noticed it was missing, called the police. Security footage showed a co-worker emerging from the bathroom with the phone. When confronted, she denied it, but the victim signed a citizen's arrest form and the suspect was cited for petty theft.
Hate-Crime Graffiti Suspect Arrested, Ditches Court Appearance
On August 30th at 5am, a police officer was on patrol when he spotted a man at Fell and Octavia who matched the description of the perpetrator of a prior graffiti hate-crime incident. The officer approached the suspect and chatted, at which point the suspect attempted to flee on foot. The officer gave chase for several blocks before apprehending him, and the suspect, 46-year-old Billy Samuels, (who had several outstanding warrants) was booked at Northern Station before being released by a judge to a program that is supposed to provide him with drug treatment and address housing issues. Samuels subsequently failed to appear in court on September 24th and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
In addition to the crime recaps sourced from SFPD above, a strange incident took place on September 4th:
Someone overturned an entire thing of compost from Suppenkuche on my car last night. There goes my "no car wash till the drought's over" plan
— Tracey Thompson (@traceykthompson) September 4, 2015My car and 4 others got hit. It's potatoes and slaw all over the place. On the phone with SFPD now to get someone to clean up the street :(
— Tracey Thompson (@traceykthompson) September 4, 2015
