A 38-year-old man has been charged with 10 counts tied to a string of early-morning burglaries that prosecutors say hit homes across San Francisco over the past month, targeting residents while they slept. Levi Michael Banks was arrested on suspicion of committing several of these so-called hot prowl burglaries, home invasions carried out while occupants were still inside, according to the San Francisco district attorney’s office.
Prosecutors accused Banks of breaking into homes in Noe Valley, Pacific Heights and Presidio Heights, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. He was charged with 10 counts of residential burglary, vandalism, possession of stolen property, and theft of access cards and card information, the DA’s office said. KRON4 separately reported that the charges were announced by San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins.
A Month of Pre-Dawn Break-Ins
The earliest known cluster struck Noe Valley on Sept. 26, when San Francisco police received burglary reports between roughly 2:24 a.m. and 9:35 a.m., per the Chronicle's reporting. Prosecutors say the reported locations included the 4100 and 4200 blocks of 24th Street, the 600 block of Elizabeth Street and the 900 block of Noe Street.
Investigators allege Banks allegedly stole more than $64,000 in property from two homes in Pacific Heights, according to prosecutors. The case escalated as it moved through some of the city's wealthier enclaves, with the string of break-ins continuing into October before Banks was taken into custody.
A Silent Alarm Leads to an Arrest
The break came before dawn on Oct. 23, when a silent alarm was triggered around 2:23 a.m. on the 3700 block of Clay Street. Officers responded, located a suspect vehicle in the area, and arrested Banks after he returned to the car about two hours later, prosecutors said.
In the area, police found a backpack containing residents' personal identifying information, about $4,500 in cash and victims' clothing. Prosecutors said the backpack also held clothing Banks wore in surveillance footage reviewed by investigators, tying him to the earlier break-ins.
Court Dates and an Ongoing Investigation
Banks was arraigned on the charges on Tuesday and is scheduled to appear in court again on Nov. 3. The San Francisco district attorney's office said the police investigation remains ongoing, leaving open the possibility of additional findings as the case proceeds.
San Francisco police are asking anyone with information to call 415-575-4444 or text Tip411, beginning the message with “sfpd.” The charges against Banks are allegations, and he has not been convicted.
Not the City's Only Hot Prowl Case This Year
Hot prowl burglaries, break-ins that occur while someone is home, whether or not the intruder knows the home is occupied, have surfaced elsewhere in the Bay Area this year, though the available evidence does not point to a broader citywide trend tied to this case. In July, the San Francisco Police Department said officers arrested 28-year-old Dylan Ward after he burglarized a Northern District home overnight and stole a vehicle from the garage; he was caught after exiting the stolen car in a Southern District alley, and officers recovered stolen property including clothing Ward was wearing at the time of his arrest.
Across the bay, a case in Berkeley's Elmwood neighborhood remained unresolved as of this summer. Two masked men kicked in the front door of an 87-year-old woman's home before 8 a.m. on June 29, and police said the men were aware the woman was home; officers arrived within minutes after she fled to a neighbor's house to call 911, according to the Berkeley Scanner. No arrests or charges had been reported in that case at the time of the outlet's report. The same report noted that Berkeley's preliminary 2026 data showed at least 172 home burglaries citywide, down from 196 during the same period in 2025, and that hot prowl incidents specifically are not routinely tracked and occur less often than burglaries of unoccupied homes.
