FiDi & North Beach Crime: Armed Robberies, Pipe Attacker Arrested, MorePhoto: Nathan Falstreau/Hoodline
Nathan Falstreau
Published on October 23, 2017

Time for another look at crime in SFPD's Central District, which includes Chinatown, Financial District, Embarcadero, Russian, Telegraph and Nob Hills, North Beach, and Union Square.

Here are some of the incidents that have taken place since our last biweekly report. Unless otherwise noted, all reports are drawn from SFPD's summary.

Photo: Marc tarlock/Flickr

Two armed suspects robbed Coit Tower visitors

We previously reported earlier this month that on October 11th at approximately 10:30pm, two victims, a 42-year-old man and a 52-year-old woman, were taking photos when they were approached from behind by two male suspects.

The first suspect pointed a gun at the victims, who ran away, leaving their camera and equipment behind. The suspects fled with the victims' property, heading eastbound on Telegraph Hill Blvd.

No arrests have been made in the incident. 

Thief steals laptop from café patron

A robbery occurred on October 17th at 6:30pm near the corner of Montgomery and Sutter Streets in the Financial District.

A male teen entered a coffee shop where a woman, 25, and a man, 34, were working on a laptop. The teen grabbed the computer from the table in front of the woman and she gave chase.

The man tried to intervene and the suspect struck him in the face, causing minor injuries. The laptop was later recovered by police, but it's not clear if an arrest has been made. 

Hot prowl burglary thwarted after authorities called 

An attempted hot prowl burglary occurred just before 10pm on October 14th on the 700 block of Pacific Avenue in Russian Hill. 

A 33-year-old woman was attempting to enter her residence when a male suspect between 25 and 35 forced his way inside. He began rummaging through her belongings, but the victim called police and the suspect fled the scene. No items were reported missing. 

North Beach store robbed at gunpoint 

On October 14th at 8:15pm on the 1800 block of Stockton Street, an armed robbery occurred. 

A male suspect in his late 20s entered a store and approached the the counter before pointing a gun at the proprietor, a 60-year-old man, and demanding cash. 

The victim removed money from the register and handed it over to the suspect. The suspect then fired one round near the victim, exited the store, and got into an awaiting vehicle and fled northbound on Stockton Street. 

Man robbed at gunpoint while walking 

Another robbery occurred October 12th at 11pm on the corner of Mason and Jackson Streets in Nob Hill. 

A 38-year-old man was walking when three male suspects in their 20s approached from behind. One of the suspects brandished a handgun and demanded the victim's property. The remaining two suspects went through his pockets and purloined the victim's cash, wallet, keys and cell phone.

The suspects then fled the scene in an unknown vehicle. 

Suspects steal ring, use scissors to cut strap off victim's backpack

On October 11th at 9:28am near Columbus Avenue and Beach Street in Fisherman's Wharf, a 49-year-old man was robbed of his ring while sitting on a bench. 

The first suspect, a woman in her 40s, approached the victim and then used scissors to cut the strap of his backpack. A second suspect, a 40-year-old man, then asked the victim if he had any money and pushed him. An 18-year-old woman, who is a third suspect in the incident, stole the man's ring and all three walked away from the scene. 

Police arrived at the scene and located the victim's backpack but no arrests have been made. 

Suspect simulates handgun and snatches purse

On the 600 block of Sutter Street in Nob Hill on October 10th just before 8pm, a 41-year-old man and a 40-year-old female were robbed by a male suspect in his 20s. 

The suspect simulated a handgun and snatched the victim's purse and cellphone before absconding on foot. 

Suspect arrested after hitting victim with pipe

A 56-year-old man was injured after an altercation on the 300 block of Powell Street in Union Square on October 10th at 6:10pm. 

The victim got into an argument with a 50-year-old man. The suspect then came up from behind and struck the victim with a pipe, causing injury, and fled the scene. 

The victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to a hospital for treatment. Police located the suspect and took him into custody. 

If you have any information regarding any of these incidents, contact police anonymously by calling 415-575-4444, or text your tip to TIP411 with “SFPD” at the start of your message.

Here’s why we usually don’t include suspect descriptions in crime reports.