In this week's Central Station newsletter, Captain Lazar reminds residents that it's going to be a busy weekend, with plenty of visitors coming to the neighborhood to watch Fleet Week festivities and catch the Giants playoff series against the Cubs at many of our local watering holes.
He says he'll be personally working all weekend, as well as deploying more officers in high-traffic areas around North Beach, Chinatown and Fisherman's Wharf. As always, "If you see something, say something," he said.
Over the past two weeks, we saw another robbery in broad daylight near the crooked section of Lombard Street in Russian Hill. Two tourists visiting from China were taking photos when two suspects approached from behind, stated they had a gun and demanded the victims' cameras before fleeing the scene on foot. We recently reported on steps that Central Station is taking to address the safety issue on Lombard Street.
Now, on to our bi-weekly crime roundup from the northeast neighborhoods.
Cleaning crew robbed on the job
A robbery occurred on September 24th at 5:30am on the 900 block of Sutter Street in Lower Nob Hill where a woman, 31, and a man, 39, were working as a cleaning crew. Three male suspects in their mid-30s followed them into the business where they were working, pulled out a weapon and demanded their property. The victims complied and the suspects fled on foot with jewelry and a cell phone.
Laptop stolen while victim slumbers
Sometime between the hours of 6:30pm and 3am on September 27th and 28th, a hot prowl burglary went down on the 600 block of Broadway in North Beach. A 51-year-old man went to sleep but left the front door open due to the heat. When he woke up, he noticed that the briefcase containing his laptop that was placed next to his bed was missing.
Roommate detains prowler until arrest
Another hot prowl burglary happened on the 1500 block of Jackson Street in Nob Hill on September 28th, at 3:45am. The victim, a 28-year-old woman, was sleeping when she noticed the light turn on in her kitchen. When she went to check, she saw a woman, 26, standing in the kitchen. The suspect then exited the building and tried to leave, but the victim's roommate was able to hold her until police arrived and took her into custody. The victim later noticed that her bicycle was missing.
Man punched in the head during argument, suspect arrested
On October 2nd at around 2:30am on the corner of Geary and Jones streets near Union Square, three men in their 20s got into an argument with another man, 29. One of the suspects punched the victim in the back of the head and he lost consciousness. Officers arrived at the scene and witnesses were able to identify the suspect, whereupon police took him into custody. The victim was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Suspect pulls knife, steals sunglasses from store
A man walked into a store on the 100 block of Battery Street in the FiDi on October 3rd at 6:20pm and picked up a pair of sunglasses. The victim, 30, an employee of the store, asked the suspect if he wanted to try them on. The suspect then walked towards the exit, but the employee was able to get in front of him, and asked the suspect if he was going to pay for the sunglasses. The suspect pulled out a knife and said, "no," before walking out of the store.
Bus stop set afire
We've reported on fires being started in this part of North Beach near Fisherman's Wharf before. Another occurred on October 5th ,just after midnight, near the corner of Mason and Beach streets. SFFD requested that police respond to a covered bus stop that was set on fire. They determined it to be arson; there is no suspect information available.
