SFPD Central Station officers on Tuesday nabbed a suspect in a Chinatown home invasion and robbery with help from surveillance camera footage.
The victim, a 92-year-old Asian woman, was in her apartment in the 700 block of Broadway Street when the suspect entered via an unlocked front door, according to an SFPD crime report. As she walked into the living room, she saw a man going through the drawers to a chest in her living area.
When she asked him what he was doing, he grabbed at her wallet, which was in her front shirt pocket. She tried to grab her wallet to prevent it from being stolen, which tore her shirt. The suspect fled out the front door and the woman wasn't injured.
Officers from Central Station began an investigation, according to a press release SFPD sent, and found video of the suspect. "Investigators reviewing the video recognized the suspect from past police contacts," the statement said. "On April 7th, members of the Central Station Plain Clothes Unit viewed the video, recognized the suspect and set out to locate him. Later than evening, the Officers located the suspect at Market Street and Cyril Magnin, still wearing the same clothes that he was wearing during the incident."
Fred Jones. Photo: SFPD
Fred Jones, 46, of San Francisco was taken into custody without incident and booked into County Jail on felony charges of burglary in the first degree, robbery, elder abuse and for violating his parole and probation.
Capt. David Lazar has been spearheading an effort for several months to urge Chinatown business owners and landlords to install cameras and to step up patrols in Chinatown.
"The cameras were key to this case," Capt. Lazar said. "It made the difference between us catching the suspect and us not catching the suspect."
He added, "Within an hour of watching the video, they had him in custody at Market and Cyril Magnin."
Capt. Lazar continued: "We’ve had at least three meetings with building owners in Chinatown to encourage them to move forward on installing building sure systems. It again emphasizes how important it is, not only for Chinatown, but for the residential and business community to install security cameras to capture incidences."
He said he was "very proud' of the Chinatown Community Development Center for installing the camera that was used in this case and proud of the victim for coming forward. "This is the model case; this is the poster for doing things right," Capt. Lazar said.
He also applauded the excellent police work for the quick apprehension of the suspect.
