Here's our latest recap of some recent crimes and injuries in the Financial District, North Beach and adjoining neighborhoods, as reported by SFPD sources. Though not meant to be comprehensive, it should serve as a brief snapshot of recent activity, to help locals stay informed. We'll also occasionally include snippets from SFPD Central Station Capt. David Lazar's newsletter.
This week's SFPD newsletter includes a reminder to attend Central Station's National Night Out from 6–8pm Tuesday on the 600 block of Filbert Street. Capt. Lazar also congratulates Alimento for its big win at the National Lasagna Day dinner at the San Francisco Italian Athletic Club on July 29th (he was one of the judges). He also notes the station has made 80 arrests this year in auto burglary cases, and he issues a list of reminders on protecting your valuables.
And now for an overview of some of the past week's most notorious crimes, including two unrelated arrests of men both from Vallejo, two stabbings, and a host of robberies with force.
Nathanael Wells Willis. Photo: SFPD
Nathanael Wells Willis, 40, of Vallejo, a massage therapist working in a business on the 400 block of Sutter Street by Union Square, was arrested on July 21st. He was booked at San Francisco County Jail and charged with one felony count of forcible penetration with a foreign object and one felony count of sexual battery. SFPD had opened the investigation into inappropriate sexual conduct by a massage therapist on July 10th and found the suspect was operating without a valid state and/or local license. Although an arrest was made, the investigation is ongoing. If you have information, call the SFPD Special Victims Unit at (415) 553-1187, the anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 with SFPD at the beginning of the message.
Lanzelle Green. Photo: SFPD
Officers from Central Station responded to a reported auto burglary on the 500 block of Market Street in the FiDi just after 9pm July 25th. They determined the suspect had broken a window on a Chevrolet sedan and stole a backpack containing a handgun and loaded magazine. In addition to allegedly stealing the gun, which was in a locked safe box, the suspect also stole an article of clothing belonging to the victim.
The officers reviewed images captured on a nearby surveillance camera system and, using a smart phone, took a screen shot of the suspect. An Inspector from Central Station’s Investigations Team (SIT) issued a crime alert containing the screen shot photo of the suspect and information about the burglary. Later that evening, around 11:42pm, officers from Tenderloin Station responded to a “man with a gun” call at a building on the 300 block of Ellis Street. Upon arrival, the officers saw Lanzelle Green, 37, last known address of Vallejo, asleep on a chair in the first floor hallway. The officers saw a handgun on the floor underneath Green. They slid the handgun away and out of Green’s reach and took him into custody. The handgun was determined to be loaded, with the hammer in the “cocked” position.
During their follow up investigation, the patrol officers from Tenderloin Station used information in the Central Station crime alert to connect Green to the Market Street auto burglary. The officers determined the serial number of the recovered gun matched that of the weapon stolen earlier in the evening. They also determined that Green was wearing the clothing stolen from the victim’s vehicle and that he was still wearing the clothing that he wore during the crime, as depicted in the crime alert bulletin. Green, who frequents the Tenderloin, is on probation in San Francisco County for a 2014 burglary. He has numerous police contacts dating back to 1996, including several convictions for narcotics violations, burglary, and possession of stolen property including a prior conviction for possession of a firearm.
A 40-year-old man was stabbed in the abdomen at 12:39pm July 24th at Market and Powell streets near Union Square. He was involved in a verbal altercation with a 34-year-old man, who stabbed him with a knife. The victim suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to San Francisco General Hospital. The suspect was arrested.
Someone swiped a smart phone left on a dining room table on the 1600 block of Hyde Street on Nob Hill at around 10:15–10:45pm July 24th. A 48-year-old man was home unloading his luggage in his bedroom and left the back door and large sliding glass window open, and when he came out, the phone was missing.
In another "hot prowl" burglary, this one in Nob Hill, a suspect entered a house on the 1500 block of Larkin Street sometime between 12:01 and 6:30am while the victims were asleep and stole purses, wallets, U.S. currency, a smart phone and prescription medication from a 21-year-old man and 68-year-old woman.
A woman started a fire in Sydney Walton Square on the 100 block of Pacific Avenue at 12:08am July 26th. The suspect was allegedly talking to the fire and using her clothing to keep it burning. Citizens approached to put out the fire out and she walked away. Both SFPD and SFFD responded, but the suspect was gone.
Two females, age 15–18, approached a 27-year-old woman and took her cell phone at 3:10pm July 26th at the intersection of Post Street and Grant Avenue in the Union Square neighborhood. The victim tried to get it back, but one of the youths shoved her. She wasn't injured.
An even more violent cell phone robbery with force happened at 11pm that same day, July 26th, on Russian Hill at Vallejo and Taylor streets. A 26-year-old man heard two men, age 20–25, running toward him from behind. One of them punched the victim in the back of the head and both continued kicking and punching him while stealing his cell phone and wallet. They fled the scene, and the victim was transported to St. Francis Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Another stabbing happened, this one on at 11:43pm July 26th at Third and Market streets in the FiDi. The victim, a 58-year-old man, was arguing with the suspect when the suspect pulled an unknown type of knife and cut the victim's face. The victim was uncooperative and refused to provide any further details. He was transported to San Francisco General Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
An employee of a parking garage on the 700 block of Kearny Street in Chinatown saw a 22-year-old male suspect lighting cardboard boxes on fire on a stairway, catching the platform on fire. The next day, the suspect was seen again, and was detained and arrested at 2pm July 26th.
Six male youths, age 15–16, robbed a 35-year-old man with force at 10:53pm July 27th at Market and Battery streets in the FiDi. The teenagers approached the victim from behind and one bear-hugged him from behind and shoved him. The other suspects grabbed his headphones and fled on foot. The man was not injured.
In yet another robbery with force, three women, ages 18–25, entered a store on the 300 block of Grant Avenue in the Union Square area at 3:30pm July 28th. One concealed several articles of clothing into a bag and attempted to exit the store. A 26-year-old woman tried to stop her, and she elbowed the victim in the stomach. All three suspects fled on foot.
