A SoMa man escaped a robbery and kidnapping with only minor injuries early yesterday morning, the SFPD reports.
At about 7:30am on Oct. 1, the victim, a 50-year-old man, was walking on the 400 block of Berry Street when a man put a gun to his back and made him walk to a tent near the side of the freeway and King Street, said Officer Albie Esparza.
At the tent, the suspect searched the victim's clothing, took his possessions and hit him over the head with the handgun. The victim was then able to flee and flag down a passerby, who called the police.
Police responded to the scene, located the tent and placed the suspect under arrest, Esparza said. The suspect has been identified as Gregory Speech of Richmond, Calif. In addition to facing charges for suspected kidnapping, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and robbery, Speech was in possession of methamphetamine at the time of his arrest, a violation of his probation.
