A suspect accused of repeatedly robbing the Sportique outdoor gear boutique at 808 Sutter St. and threatening female employees has been arrested, and SFPD expects to break more rampant shoplifting cases soon.
Lt. Valerie Matthews of Central Station said Lemuel Brown, 54, of the Tenderloin, was arrested this week and charged with robbery, receiving stolen property and grand theft (which applies to theft of goods valued at $950 or greater, or theft of a firearm). He was charged with robbery because of the use of force or fear: As he was allegedly stealing merchandise, he'd say things to employees like, "What the 'F' are you going to do?" Matthews told us.
"He only does this when the females are working, and they’re young girls," she added. "He’s smart enough to do it when the male employee wasn’t there." He was very intimidating, she noted, and the workers were very afraid.
After seeing numerous reports on a man of the same description, Lt. Matthews assigned the case to a sergeant in her unit, who started watching video surveillance. Store employees recognized the suspect from prior robberies, and the sergeant put out a flyer on Monday. Brown was recognized immediately as a Tenderloin resident and was picked up right away, she said. "In this day and age, you have to figure you’ve been videotaped a good 20 times a day," she noted. When he was arrested, he was wearing one of the jackets he had allegedly stolen.
Lt. Matthews added, "We’re going to talk to the District Attorney’s office and press upon them he’s a repeat offender. He’s not a person a restraining order is going to make a difference to. This is what he does to make a living."
This case is just one of a series Lt. Matthews said they're expecting to break soon concerning a rash of shoplifting and robberies in the area, though she noted it's a nationwide problem and not specific to Union Square or even San Francisco. Rings of criminals make the rounds to shopping areas or malls everywhere from the city to Colma, Daly City, San Jose and Sacramento, she said. They sell the stolen goods at flea markets, small shops and online.
"We’ve been working on a lot of big cases in Union Square and we expect to make a big dent in that whole ring in the next few days," Lt. Matthews said. "It’s extremely organized, with the volume that they’re stealing. It’s not for personal use. There’s so many types of thieves out there. They’ll take an order from a person: I want this purse or these shoes. They set up online shopping, they have warehouses."
The owner of the Sportique boutique, Chris Gathright, told us he'd like the law changed to be tougher on shoplifters and robbers, because "Any person could walk into any shop and the worst that could happen is you get slapped on the wrist. I think criminals are realizing that and saying this is easy. I'd love to see that changed. That's, in my mind, the bigger issue." (California law classifies thefts of $950 or less as petty theft, and it's usually a misdemeanor, not a felony.)
In addition to wanting new legislation, Gathright urged other business owners not only to report incidents to the police, but to continue to call and email about open cases and to assist police with any information. "I know they're strapped for resources, but it's got to be better. We've got to have a better system to get these guys off the streets and get them in jail," he said.
