Here's the latest update on crime and safety issues across North Beach and the FiDi.
According to the SFPD Central Station Twitter account, officers honed in on pedestrian safety this week, with back-to-back targeted traffic enforcements. On Wednesday, Sept. 21st, officers issued 15 citations in one hour at Sansome and Green near Levi's Plaza for failing to yield to a pedestrian in the crosswalk. On Thursday, Sept. 22nd, they issued 25 citations at the same intersection for the same reason. (There's no traffic light at that intersection, but vehicles are supposed to stop for pedestrians entering the crosswalk.)
Photo: Google Street View
In this week's SFPD Central Station Captain's Newsletter, Capt. David Lazar writes that several Telegraph Hill residents have reported packages being stolen and mailboxes being broken into. "Please work with your neighbors and mail carriers to either have your package delivered to a neighbor who is home or pick the package up at the nearest facility," he writes. "In addition, please retrieve your mail daily. These incidents occurred late at night." Officers have arrested a suspect believed to be stealing packages on the 700 block of Post Street.
A YouTube user with the screen name "junk box" posted a video on Sept. 21st of himself following a man in a blue beanie through Union Square, whom he accused of taking pictures up young girls' skirts. In the video, the man is eventually arrested.
On Sept. 22nd, officers made an auto burglary arrest at Ellis and Cyril Magnin Streets, according to the Central Station Twitter.
Here's the weekly roundup from Central Station's crime logs:
In the 400 block of Filbert Street on Telegraph Hill at about 1:30am Sept. 18th, someone entered a residence through an unlocked, closed window and took a tablet and laptop while the victim, a 32-year-old man, slept. The suspect fled the scene.
A thief made off with three cashmere sweaters from a store on the 100 block of Sutter Street in the FiDi at 10:22am Sept. 18th. He then tried to barter them for hats at a nearby store in Union Square. The suspect was an African-American man about age 40–50. He was estimated to be about 5'10" and 200 pounds, with balding, graying black hair, brown eyes, missing front teeth, a three-day growth on his beard and a slight limp. He was wearing a black puffy jacket, silver-frame Versace glasses with the tag still on them, blue jeans and a yellow dress shirt with a swirl pattern.
The thief was seen selecting several cashmere sweaters and trying to conceal them under his jacket. A man, 78, and woman, 54, began to wrestle him for the sweaters. He threw sweaters at them, but escaped with three of them.
Another call came in at 10:40am that same day from the 100 block of Geary Street in Union Square to report a shoplifting suspect fitting the exact description, down to the dress shirt with swirl pattern and the Versace glasses with the tag. He reportedly entered the store and started shoving hats under his jacket. When a man, 34, at the store confronted him and told him to return the hats, the suspect offered the cashmere sweaters as compensation. The victim refused the sweaters and demanded the hats back. The suspect threw hats at him and fled out the door, pilfering some felt hats in addition to the cashmere sweaters from the previous heist.
A suspect who tried robbing two people in the FiDi by saying he had a gun, but not brandishing it, was caught and arrested. The incident occurred at 2:38pm on Sept. 19th, at Clay and Battery Streets. A woman, 45, and man, 49, were walking when a man, 36, approached them and asked for money. After they refused, the suspect walked up and approached them again, blocked their path and demanded money, saying he had a gun. The victims ran away from the scene, called police and later identified the suspect. The female victim suffered bruises to her knee, hip and hand, but refused medical treatment.
A bicycle rental booth on the 300 block of Powell Street in Union Square was robbed at 3:25pm Sept. 22nd. A man in his twenties pulled a handgun and demanded money, and the victim, a 34-year-old man, complied. The suspect fled on foot in an unknown direction.
At 2:40am Sept. 23rd, a man about 30–35 years old approached a man, 62, at Columbus and Filbert streets in North Beach and asked for directions. He then snatched the victim's chains from his neck. A struggle ensued, but the thief made off with two gold necklaces, a platinum chain and a Fast Pass.
On the 800 block of Market Street between Fourth and Fifth streets in the FiDi Union Square, a man, 52, was walking to the gym before work at 4:15am Sept. 23rd when two suspects, both men ages 20–25, approached him from behind. The first suspect punched the man behind the head, knocking him to the ground. The second suspect took a laptop and phone from the man's backpack as the first suspect threatened to stab the victim if he didn’t comply. Both suspects fled the scene on foot in unknown direction. The victim suffered abrasions to his face, forearm and both knees, but refused medical treatment.
