Monday, February 23, 2009

SFPD Arrest 13 Robbery Suspects

The SFPD posted the below press release Friday.

San Francisco Police have arrested 13 robbery suspects over a two-day period, including the arrest of a knife-wielding suspect in a taxi robbery series.

On Tuesday, February 17, police arrested Giampiero Bazzoni, 58, of San Francisco, after a cab robbery that occurred at Washington and Taylor streets at approximately 1:15 A.M. In this incident, the suspect had gotten into a taxi driven by a 35-year-old male. After driving for a few blocks, the suspect placed a knife against the driver’s neck and demanded money. The driver managed to jump out of the cab unharmed and the suspect climbed over the back seat and attempted to drive the cab but crashed into a wall on the 1200 block of Taylor. The suspect got out of the cab and the victim chased him and tackled him to the pavement and detained him until police arrived. Bazzoni was charged with robbery and carjacking.

Bazzoni is the suspect in two other taxi robberies, one on January 18, at Pine and Leavenworth streets, and one on January 16, at Pacific Avenue and Taylor Street, both occurring in the early morning. There were no injuries to the victims in those incidents.

Also on Tuesday, February 17, at approximately 1:30 P.M., police arrested Dante Armstrong, 33, of San Francisco, for a robbery that occurred on February 15. Investigators developed investigative leads, identifying Armstrong as the suspect and began a surveillance operation. He was taken into custody after he drove his 1995 Oldsmobile into a parking lot on the 1900 block of Sunnydale Avenue. Armstrong was charged with robbery and various narcotic violations.

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