Robbery Suspects Arrested After Car Chase, Crash in Lower Haight [Updated]

A high-speed police chase which tore through the neighborhood tonight resulted in a car crash, a pursuit on foot, and the quick arrest of two robbery suspects.

Around 6:20pm, several police cars whizzed around the Lower Haight, as observed by lots of folks in the area at the time:

Wow tons of SFPD cars are tearing around Lower Haight at full speed right now... Crazy.

— Dan Jackson (@DanJackson415) April 5, 2013

All hell's breaking loose in the hood. Cops boxing off haight. #highspeedchase #lowerhaightsf

— Logan Hesse (@Logan_P_Hesse) April 5, 2013

Crazy car chase up & down haight tons of cop cars ended on 500 block.. What going on?

— WING WINGS (@wingwingssf) April 5, 2013

SFPD spokesman Gordon Shyy tells us the chase began in the Tenderloin, where officers spotted a vehicle matching the description of a car suspected in a number of robberies that had occurred during the day. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver refused to do so. A short pursuit followed, leading into the Lower Haight. The car finally crashed into a utility pole at Steiner and Hermann. Fortunately, there were no injuries. Several witnesses tell us that the driver and a passenger then fled on foot. Reader Amy M. sends us this account:

"At about 6:20, standing on waller street between fillmore and steiner, we saw a few cop cars going south on Steiner, then a police van going north, and then a commotion. On the south side of Waller, almost at Steiner, police approached a suspect trying to hide between two parked cars. The police had their weapons out, and one shouted, "Don't move, I WILL shoot you if you move." We also saw a different dude running north on Steiner, but didn't see if he was apprehended!"

That different dude was apprehended, it turns out. Officer Shyy would only describe the suspects as two black males. It's an active investigation, but evidence in the vehicle indicates that they had committed a number of robberies, Shyy said. So, there you have it -- a successful resolution to a pretty scary few minutes in the Lower Haight. Update 4/5/2013, 3:30pm: SFPD issued a press release this afternoon, identifying the suspects as Edwin Tobie, 19, and Ernest Evans, 20, both San Francisco residents. They were booked on robbery, conspiracy, possession of stolen property and other related charges. Yesterday at 10:12am, a pedestrian was robbed of a smartphone near the Glen Park BART station. Then, at 4:19pm, another victim was robbed of a smartphone near Folsom and Embarcadero. The suspects in both robberies fled via what was described as a maroon-colored four door vehicle. Officers in the Tenderloin spotted such a vehicle at 6:20pm, and the rest is history. If you've been a victim of a robbery involving a vehicle that matches the description and photos above, contact Sergeant Nico Discenza at 415-553-9069, or call the SFPD's anonymous tip line at 415-575-4444.