FiDi & North Beach Crime Roundup: Sugar Dispenser Assault, Many MuggingsPhoto: Geri Koeppel/Hoodline
Geri Koeppel
Published on March 05, 2016

The SFPD Central Station Captain's Newsletter is back this week after a two-week hiatus. In it, Capt. David Lazar discusses recent auto burglaries (and arrests) and staffing changes, among other issues.

"We will see a new beat officer in Chinatown, two new officers in the Ping Yuen, a new officer in North Beach and a new officer in Union Square," he writes. "Next week, I will let you know who the newly assigned officers are."

Also, the preliminary hearing for Colin White, the suspect in the homicide of North Beach sketch artist Stuart "Stu" Jackson, is set for 9am Monday, March 7th, in Department 20 of the Hall of Justice, 850 Bryant St. Jackson died in December after being attacked at Market Street and Van Ness Avenue; a memorial was held in January at Caffe Trieste.

Now for the past week's misdeeds and mayhem:

Witness puts out fire, points out suspect

A witness saw a woman, 37, set a trash bin on fire at 11:22am February 27th on the 400 block of Bush Street in the FiDi. The witness put the fire out, and the suspect was taken into custody.

Unruly bar patrons take their fight to the street

An altercation in a bar led to fisticuffs at 12:01am February 27th in the 500 block of Jackson Street in Jackson Square. The bar staff kicked out the suspect, a man of about 25–30, and the victim, a 29-year-old man. Once outside, the suspect sucker punched the victim in the face, and he lost consciousness and was transported to a hospital.

Woman mugged for lunch bag

A 64-year-old woman was walking on Powell Street near Broadway on the North Beach/Chinatown border at 4:40am February 27th when a man, age 30, approached her, punched her once in the face and took her lunch bag. He then fled on foot. The victim suffered a bruised eye, but refused medical transport.

Female team in Mercedes nabs backpack and drives off

At 5:10pm February 27th, a woman, 19, reported a white Mercedes pulled up to where she was standing at Grant Avenue and O’Farrell Street in Union Square. A woman, age 20–25, got out and approached her, pulled off the victim's backpack, and fled in vehicle, which another woman was driving. The victim lost her backpack, which contained her wallet, identification, debit cards, speakers and a phone charger.

Man bumps into woman, then steals purse

A woman, 31, was walking southbound on Kearny Street at Pacific Avenue (at the border of Jackson Square and North Beach) at 1am February 28th when a man bumped into her, causing her to drop her purse. She went to pick it up, but the man beat her to it and fled eastbound on Pacific.

Would-be coffee thief assaults woman with sugar dispenser

An aggravated assault and strong-arm robbery was committed with a sugar dispenser at 9:54am February 29th on California Street near Market Street in the FiDi. A woman, 55, entered a coffee shop and attempted to take a cup of coffee without paying. The victim, a 29-year-old woman, knew the suspect from prior incidents and attempts to snatch the coffee away. The suspect then took a glass sugar dispenser and struck the victim on the head, causing a bruise. The victim was taken to a hospital, and officers took the suspect into custody without incident.

Security guard interrupts assault

A security guard heard a disturbance outside his building at 12:45am March 1st on the 2200 block of Powell Street in North Beach. When he went outside, he saw a man, 45, on top of another man, 63, hitting him with his fists. When the suspect saw the guard, he ran away. The victim suffered a cut to his eye and was transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Muggers make off with wallet shortly after midnight 

A 22-year-old man was mugged at Pine and Battery streets in the FiDi at 12:15am March 2nd. Two men in their twenties approached the victim walking southbound on Battery, shoved him to the ground and forcibly removed his wallet from his pocket, then fled north on Battery. 

Man struggles to keep backpack from muggers, but fails

At 9:30pm March 2nd on Bay Street at Midway in Fisherman's Wharf, a man, 51, was mugged by two men in their twenties. One suspect tried to take the cell phone out of his hands, while the second grabbed his backpack. The victim struggled with them, but they got away with his backpack with his laptop, cell phone and passport. He suffered scrapes to his knee, but refused medical transport.

Man punches woman, steals purse

And yet another mugging rounds out this week's crime report. At 10:50pm March 2nd, a woman, 28, was sitting near Green and Hyde streets in Russian Hill when a man, age 30–35, approached, punched her in the face and took her purse, containing her wallet and keys. He then fled west on Green and south on Larkin. She suffered a bruise to her head and was transported to a hospital in non-life-threatening condition.