A tire-slashing spree has ended with a San Francisco man behind bars after police responded to a flood of calls in the Richmond District. According to the San Francisco Police Department, on the night of March 19, 2024, officers raced to the area of 12th Avenue and Anza Street.
They were on the hunt for a suspect, eyed in a fresh wave of vandalism. At 8:58 p.m., the local authorities got their man, Osiel Torres, age 22. He was allegedly caught in the act, not far from where the destruction had gone down. Over 20 vehicles had their tires slashed, the result — a street lined with marooned metal carcasses.
The accused, a Richmond District local, now faces 22 counts of felony vandalism. His rash of tire terror racked up charges more commonly associated with grander, more grievous crimes. "The actions of the 911 caller who was one of the victims in this incident as well as the swift response and diligent investigating by Richmond station officers led to this great arrest," says the SFPD report.
Despite the arrest, police stress this is not the end, justice has not yet been fully served, or the book slammed shut. There's more digging to be done, pieces of the puzzle to piece together. The SFPD encourages anyone with information to step forward and call their tip line or shoot a text to TIP411. They assure that tipsters can keep their names out of the spotlight, their identities shrouded in secrecy.
