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October 2009

REPORT FROM MISSION STATION

The following crime summaries were culled from incident reports filed at Mission Police Station. They cover some but not all incidents occurring Aug. 16 through Sept. 15, 2009, in the northern half of Noe Valley, defined as the area bordered by Grand View, 21st, Guerrero, and Cesar Chavez streets. The summaries were provided by Officer Jane Warner of the San Francisco Patrol Special Police.

Aug. 27, 9 p.m., 900 block of Douglass, Theft of Purse: A woman reported setting her purse down on her driveway outside her house to break up a dogfight. When she remembered the next day that she had left her purse outside, she checked on it and discovered it missing. A $500 green Mazzini purse, a Williams leather wallet, a BlackBerry phone, a checkbook, credit cards, all missing.

Aug. 28, 9 a.m., 600 block of Alvarado, Auto Burglary: A Toyota RAV4, parked overnight on a public street, was burglarized. The passenger side window was smashed . A Swiss Army knife, numerous CDs, and about $50 were taken.

Aug. 28, 11:05 a.m. (rptd), 23rd and Castro, Auto Burglary: A Honda Accord, parked on a public street overnight, was broken into. No apparent damage was done to the locked vehicle. However, missing from the interior was a $1,200 Apple laptop computer, backpack, and several textbooks.

Sept. 5, 5:26 p.m., 26th and Church, Stolen Vehicle Pursuit (arrest made): While on routine patrol, Lt. Ed Santos, assigned to Mission Station, observed a green Honda Accord at the intersection of Mission and 24th streets traveling at a high speed. The lieutenant ran the license plate of the vehicle, and the computer query revealed the car had been reported stolen. Making a U-turn, Santos radioed Dispatch his observations, along with a description of the occupant and the car's direction of travel. Several units responded to the area, and officers soon spotted the car southbound on Mission at 23rd. Giving chase, officers pursued the fleeing car as it wound through Capp Street, running stop signs and traveling in excess of 50 miles per hour. As the stolen vehicle neared Folsom and Cesar Chavez, the chase was canceled in accordance with police policy, as supervisors determined the pursuit was becoming too reckless. Officers stopped chasing the vehicle at Folsom and last saw it turn westbound on Cesar Chavez. A short time later, however, Dispatch advised officers a resident on the 1300 block of Noe Street called to report a man driving a green Honda had abruptly parked in front of her house, gotten out of the car, and started running. The resident gave the license number of the car, which matched the car involved in the pursuit. Officers quickly responded to the area and found the suspect walking on Church near 26th Street. They took him into custody at gunpoint. The suspect, 24, was taken to Mission Station, where he was booked for driving a stolen vehicle, driving with a suspended license, and committing numerous traffic violations, including reckless dri ving and speeding, evading police, probation violation, and an outstanding warrant for $10,000.

Sept. 11, 2:30 p.m., 4000 block of 24th, False Impersonation to Receive Money or Property: A man was alerted by his bank that someone had tried to withdraw funds from his debit account at Bank of America on 24th Street. A representative from the bank informed the man that his social security number had been used and a hold had been placed on his account, pending further investigation by the bank's fraud division. The representative informed the man to file a police report.

Sept. 12, 12:34 a.m., 1400 block of Castro, Commercial Burglary: A man who had just got off the bus observed another man near the corner market at Castro and 25th streets, looking around and acting suspicious. The witness thought this was strange behavior, but kept on walking. Suddenly, he heard a loud crash, looked over, and saw the suspicious man running. Behind him was a young woman running as well. The man called police on his cell phone and gave the dispatcher a description of the two subjects. Officers arrived, searched the area, found the couple near Jersey Street, and detained them without incident pending further investigation. An officer returned to the store to see what had happened and found a metal newspaper rack lying on its side underneath an open window on the side of the building. The owner of the market arrived and conducted a walk-through of the premises. Finding nothing missing or disturbed, the owner told officers that sometimes the window is left open because of the hot weather. Officers transported the suspects, 29 and 17, to Mission Station and charged them with commercial burglary and conspiracy to commit a crime.

Sept. 13, 7 a.m., Eureka and 22nd, Auto Burglary: Insurance and registration documents, phone charger, and car service manual were taken from a locked car while parked on a public street. Owner discovered the car locked; no damage noted.

REPORT FROM INGLESIDE STATION

This crime log for Upper Noe Valley--an area roughly bordered by Cesar Chavez, Guerrero, 30th, and Diamond streets--has been culled from newsletters produced by Capt. David Lazar, commander of Ingleside Police Station. The incidents are those that were reported Aug. 16 to Sept. 15, 2009. Please note that the list may not include all incidents occurring or reported during the month. If you would like to receive Capt. Lazar's newsletter, send an email to SFPDInglesideStation@sfgov.org.

Aug. 21, 5:39 a.m., 00 block of 29th, Attempted Burglary: Officer Almaguer and Officer Ng responded to a report of vandalism. They met with the witness, who said that when he arrived at work he heard a loud noise from the kitchen. When he went to see what was going on, he discovered that the rear door to the building had been forced open. The witness returned to the front of the business and saw a man peering through the window. The man left when he saw the witness.

Aug. 21, 7 p.m., 500 block of 29th, Fraud: Off icer Archilla met with a woman at Ingleside Station regarding a case of fraud. The victim had been telephoned by a suspect who identified himself as her grandson. The suspect said he had been arrested in Canada and needed bail money. The victim also spoke with other suspects who requested money on her "grandson's" behalf, including one who posed as a police officer. The suspects called back several times requesting more money for attorney fees and other costs. In all, the victim sent several large payments to the suspects.

Aug. 21, 8:51 p.m., 1600 block of Dolores, Burglary: Officer Bernal and Officer Androvich were dispatched to a reported burglary. The officers met with the victim, who said that when he left his house earlier in the day, he noticed that his garage door was open. Upon further inspection, he discovered that his unlocked car had been ransacked and several items had been stolen from the garage. These items included a bicycle, a first-aid kit, and pumps. The victim was not sure if he h ad left the garage door open overnight.

Aug. 22, 5:18 p.m., San Jose and 30th, Unlicensed Driver: Officer Gardiner stopped a vehicle because the driver was talking on a cellular phone. The driver had never been issued a California driver's license. The vehicle was towed and the driver was cited.

Aug. 22, 6 p.m., 500 block of 28th, Stolen Vehicle: 1991 Toyota Camry, burgundy.

Aug. 27, 10:37 a.m., 1600 block of Guerrero, Malicious Mischief: Officer Curry prepared a report regarding graffiti. Victim's garage door had been marked with a silver marker.

Aug 29, 9:05 a.m., Day and Sanchez, Investigative Detention: Officer Creed and other Ingleside Station officers arrived on scene where a concerned citizen saw a male subject remove items from one vehicle, enter a public building, and then place the items in a secondary vehicle. The officers detained the subject; however, it was determined that both vehicles belonged to the subject, and the officers were unable to prove the items in question were in fact stolen.

Aug. 29, 7:33 p.m., 30th and Sanchez, Theft: Officer Suslow and Officer Chang were on patrol when they were flagged down regarding a theft from a vehicle. The victim said that she had left her car parked on the street for about two and a half hours. When she returned to it, she saw the driver's side door window had been smashed. She also found that her GPS system had been stolen out of the car.

Sept. 2, 4:44 p.m., 5700 block of Diamond Heights, Burglary: Officer Stansbury prepared a report regarding a residential burglary. Victim's passport, laptop, money, and camera were stolen.

Sept. 2, 3:39 p.m., 30th and Church, Traffic Collision.

Sept. 5, 7 p.m., 500 block of 28th, Stolen Auto.

Sept. 9, 7 p.m., 200 block of 27th, Residential Burglary: Officer Aslam took a report of two stolen bicycles from a garage. No suspects had been seen.

Sept. 10, 9 p.m., 1600 block of Church, Theft from Auto: Lt. Perea responded to inves tigate a theft from a car. The victim told the officer that he left his vehicle unlocked and his property was subsequently stolen.

Sept. 17, 5:34 p.m., 1800 block of Church, Miscellaneous Investigation: Officers arrived at a home where a resident wished to turn over a suspected explosive device. Proper steps were taken to ensure neighborhood safety. Fortunately, it was discovered the item was not what it was thought to have been.

Sept. 17, 10:15 p.m., 400 block of 28th, Vandalism to Vehicles: Officer Chou took a report on this block, where two vehicles were found with the windows broken and the trunks opened. The owners of the vehicles were not located, and it was therefore unknown whether any items were taken.

Tale of Two Districts

Noe Valley is split between two San Francisco police jurisdictions: Mission Police District and Ingleside Police District. With Cesar Chavez Street as the dividing line, Mission police monitor the northern half of the neighborhood, while Ingleside police p atrol the southern half. Both districts invite citizens to attend police-community meetings, held monthly. Mission Police District holds meetings on the last Tuesday of the month, 6 p.m., at Mission Station, 630 Valencia Street near 17th Street. Ingleside's community meetings take place on the third Tuesday of the month, 7 p.m. This month, the meeting will be held Tuesday, Oct.. 20, at Ingleside Station, 1 Sgt. John V. Young Lane.

Police Contacts

Mission Station: 558-5400

Anonymous Tip Line: 552-4558

Capt. Stephen Tacchini: 558-5455

Stephen.Tacchini@sfgov.org

Ingleside Station: 404-4000

Anonymous Tip Line: 587-8984

Capt. David Lazar: 404-4000

David.Lazar@sfgov.org

To file a police report, go to any local station or file online at www.sfgov.org.

To report a crime in progress, call 911. Cell phone users can dial S.F. Dispatch directly: 415-553-8090.