With Halloween weekend out of the way, we have a lot of crime and safety news to report for the Castro. Since our last roundup, we've had another bank robbery, a series of fires, some carjackings, and a rideshare misunderstanding that led to a broken ankle. All information comes from SFPD reports, unless otherwise noted.
Dolores Park Assault
On October 16th at 4:50pm, a man, 36, was walking in Dolores Park when four men, ages 20-30, struck him in the head with a bottle. The victim fell to the ground, and was assaulted by the four suspects. The suspects then fled, and the victim was transported to UCSF for a laceration to the head and loss of consciousness. No arrests were made.
Another Bank Robbery
The Castro saw its second bank robbery in a week on October 21st, on Market Street near Noe. A 35-year-old man walked into the bank around 10:22am, handed the teller a note demanding money, and fled with the money. No arrest has been made. Based on the location, the robbery was likely at Bank of the West, but we've been unable to confirm that. The first robbery happened on Castro Street on the same day as our last crime roundup.
Carjacking At Gunpoint
The BAR reported an October 25th carjacking near the Safeway at Church Street and Market. At 12:50am, a man, 31, was opening his car door when one suspect opened a front door and another suspect opened a rear door. One of the suspects brandished a gun and demanded that the victim leave his vehicle. The victim got out and the male suspects, 30-40 years old, took the vehicle. No arrests had been made at the time of the BAR report.
Garbage Can Arson Arrest
On October 26th at 3:30am, an anonymous caller contacted the SFPD to report a 39-year-old man lighting a garbage can on fire near Castro and 18th streets. Police arrived and arrested the man.
Dolores Street Fire
An apartment fire broke out at 15 Dolores St. around 5:30pm on October 26th. The SFFD updated Hoodline around 6:40pm on the same day, saying that the fire was now under control. There's still no word on the cause of the fire, but we will update as we learn anything new.
Garbage Pile Arson
Another arson report came in on October 28th, near Dolores Street and 16th. This time a witness saw a man making a pile of garbage on the sidewalk around 3:06am. The suspect lit the pile on fire and walked away. No arrest was made.
Power Outage
Later on the 28th, 500+ residents were without power in the Cole Valley and Corona Heights areas. The outage lasted from 9:00-11:30pm; no cause has been reported.
Carjacking With Pen
The neighborhood saw a second carjacking on October 29th at 11:08pm. The male driver was stopped at the intersection of Diamond and 18th streets when a male suspect, 25-35, opened a car door, slashed at the driver's chest with a pen, and pulled him out of the vehicle. The suspect drove away with the vehicle, which contained the victim's wallet, phone, and other belongings. The victim suffered an abrasion to his chest. No arrest has been made.
Muni Assault
A contact at Castro Community On Patrol tipped us off to an October 29th assault on the Muni F-Market line. The male suspect supposedly disappeared into the Castro. We have yet to see any report of this from the SFPD, but will update accordingly.
Rideshare Kidnapping Misunderstanding
Also on the 29th, a police report states that a 28-year-old female jumped out of a rideshare vehicle and broke her ankle. The male driver, 40-50, was heading in a different direction and not responding to the woman's communication. She believed that she was at risk of being kidnapped, resulting in her jumping from the vehicle and running away. Later reports found that the driver, who was working for Lyft, was hearing-impaired, and didn't know that the passenger was trying to communicate with him. We reached out to Lyft to see if they have any system for riders to identify if their drivers are hard of hearing.
Dolores Park Robbery At Gunpoint
On November 1st at 1:15am, two men, 18 and 19, were walking near Dolores Park when they were approached by six men, all 20-30. One of the six suspects pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the victims, demanding their property. The suspects stole cellphones, a backpack, wallet, ID cards, and money, and fled. No arrests have been made.
Safety Message On Garage Door Remotes
With vehicle break-ins up around San Francisco, the Park Station Captain's Newsletter shared the following message reminding locals to take garage-door remotes out of their cars:
Park Station has noticed a significant increase in reports of cars being broken into around the district. In addition to the cars being burglarized, the thieves are also stealing the garage door remotes, which are often left in the victims' vehicles. The thieves then proceed to gain access to the homes of the victims, where they also commit a burglary of the home. Park Station would like to remind community members to please refrain from keeping garage door remotes in vehicles.
Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments below. If you've got a crime or neighborhood safety tip to share, send us a tip here, or via Facebook or Twitter.
