Undercover Ops Net Stolen Goods, Perpetrators

Tenderloin Station Update - Captain Gary Jimenez
Recently, Sergeant Liu and Officers Muselman, Moylan, Johnson and Dudley, under the direction of Lieutenant Militello, worked an undercover operation for the recovery of stolen property. The team conducted its surveillance in the area of UN Plaza and the corner of Jones and McAllister – two areas known as open markets for the sale and purchase of stolen goods. On four occasions during the operation, the team observed the attempted sale of goods. The items included electronics equipment – iPods, a GPS system, a car stereo – and cigarettes that lacked the proper government seals. After recovering the goods, the team was able to reach the owner of one of the iPods. The owner thought the iPod was still in the glove box of her car. Upon checking, she informed officers that not only was the iPod gone, but the car’s stereo had been stolen, as well. In another instance, a recovered GPS unit led Officers to the victim’s car in the Bayview area, where the device had been stolen just two hours earlier. Because of the team’s fine undercover work and subsequent interrogation, three suspects were booked.

West Portal Night Burglar Caught in Dragnet by Taraval Police Officers

Over the past few days, there has been a string of burglaries of single family dwellings. They have occurred in the late night and early morning hours in the West Portal, St. Francis Wood and Forest Hill neighborhoods. The residences have been entered through rear and side windows or doors, with the burglar taking laptop computers and other valuables. On numerous occasions, residents were home asleep when the burglaries occurred.

We formulated a plan to address this crime series. Part of the plan, over the past four days, was to saturate the affected neighborhoods with plainclothes officers from Taraval Station. This was a coordinated effort aimed at being able to respond to a reported crime within seconds and seal off the possible escape route of a suspect or suspects. The plan also focused on public awareness and the importance of immediately reporting any suspicious activity.

Yesterday morning (4/19/09) at 1:45 AM, a couple asleep on Forest Side, in West Portal, heard noises in their home. They awoke to an escaping burglar, who had entered through a ground level side window and then gone into the residence. The suspect took a laptop computer, iPhone and camera. The residents called 911 and Taraval officers responded to the scene, surrounding the area within seconds. Officers Jose Guardado, Duane Elzey, Juan Gala and Gregory Pak were part of a larger group of officers in the area. They spotted a man at the West Portal tunnel who was acting suspiciously and in possession of a bag with a computer and camera, partly sticking out of the bag. The suspect was trying to hide himself in a bus shelter and was constantly peering out at a nearby marked police car. The officers detained the suspect, found a witness who saw the suspect walking with the bag and found the victims' iPhone, camera and laptop.

Subsequent investigation revealed that three other residences on Forest Side and Magellan were burglarized in the early morning hours today as well. Some of the property from a burglary on Magellan was found in the bag controlled by the suspect.

The suspect, who is on parole for a burglary conviction, and has addresses in the South of Market and in Visitacion Valley, was arrested for burglary, receiving stolen property, and a parole violation. The investigation by members of the Taraval Police Station, Burglary Detail Inspectors and the Crime Scene Investigations Unit continues.

We are proud of the work of the officers of Taraval Police Station to protect our community.

Citywide Crime Profile

Part 1 Crimes Summary Through 3/30.*

Violent Crimes	YTD 2008	YTD 2009		% Chg
Homicide	28	11		-61%
Rape	50	38		-24%
Robbery	912	750		-18%
Aggravated Assault	533	421		-21%
Property Crimes
Arson	61	49		-20%
Burglary	1,256	1,145		-9%
Other Larceny	3,020	2,580		-15%
Auto Boosting	3,250	2,262		-30%
Motor Vehicle Theft	1,550	1,274		-18%
Violent Crimes Total	1,523	1,220		-20%
Property Crimes Total	9,137	7,310		-20%
Combined Total	10,660	8,530		-20%

*For both years, the above crime statistics are through 3/30, with the exception of Rape and Robbery, which are through 3/28.

Bicycle Burglary Bungled

Taraval Station Update - Captain Paul Chignell
03/12/09, 10:10 AM - On 10th Avenue, a woman opened her garage door and went back into her house. She then heard sounds coming from the garage and observed a man taking her bicycle out of the garage and fleeing down the street. She tried to chase the man, to no avail, and got into her car to look for him. She then spotted San Francisco Police Tactical Officer Timothy Mayer on a motorcycle. The officer searched the area and spotted the suspect at 11th Avenue and Irving. The officer arrested the suspect, who was positively identified by the victim. The suspect, who lives at a parole halfway house, has numerous arrests for burglary and is on parole for burglary. He was arrested for burglary and a parole violation.

Second Degree Burglary, First Degree Chutzpah

Our most recent Citywide Crime Profile showed Auto Boostings down 50% and Motor Vehicle Thefts down 18% (comparing '08 and '09). The below exemplifies the hard work that is driving these reductions.

On a separate note, the brazenness exhibited by some crooks never ceases to amaze me. Here is a man on State parole, with a no-bail warrant out for his arrest, openly engaged in (alleged) auto-burglary and theft – and he has the nerve to ask a passerby to assist him by loaning him jumper cables!

Taraval Station Update - Captain Paul Chignell
02/15/09, 5:28 PM - Sergeant Woo and Officer Goff responded to a report of a man breaking into an automobile at Santiago and Lower Great Highway. When they arrived, they saw a man trying to jumpstart a vehicle using cables requested from a passerby. Though the man stated that the vehicle belonged to his aunt, the officers noticed that he had a bent coat hanger and spark plug chips in his possession. Both of these items are commonly used to enter locked vehicles (through a window, or by breaking a window, respectively). After further investigation, and as they were about to handcuff the man, he fled. He initially headed east on Santiago, before turning down 47th Avenue. While seeking to evade the officers, he discarded his coat and tools. He dodged in and out of parked cars, but was finally captured by Officers Oshita and Shanahan, on the 2400 block of 47th Avenue. The officers continued their investigation, finding that one of the cars had been forcibly entered and that the other was reported stolen. The suspect, a San Francisco resident, has a lengthy criminal record. He was arrested for a no bail parole warrant, burglary, receiving stolen property, auto theft and resisting arrest.

KVR

Price of Safety is Eternal Vigilance

Teresa Barrett, Captain of Park Station, recently informed me on a couple quite clever scams, about which I now write.

Careful with Your GPS
Recently, a woman had her car broken into, while at a football game. Her car was parked adjacent to the stadium. The garage door remote and a GPS unit, which had been prominently mounted on the dashboard, were both stolen.

When the victims got home, she found that her house had been ransacked. Just about everything of value had been taken. It is believed that the perpetrators used the GPS to guide them to the house, and the remote to gain entry. It is reasonable to conclude that the perpetrators surmised that the homeowners were going to be occupied at the football game, and that they thus had a specific window of opportunity to commit the burglary.

It remains to be seen whether or not this will be a new trend which we must be concerned about. However, if you have a navigation system in your vehicle that identifies your home location, you may become a victim of this type of crime. One obvious way to avoid this is that if you’re going to put your home address in your navigation system, don’t identify it as “Home.” You might consider entering your local police station’s address into your system as “Home.”

Careful with Your Contact List
A woman recently had her handbag, including her mobile phone, stolen. Twenty minutes later, when she called her husband, to tell him what had happened, she was shocked to hear him state "I received your text asking about our PIN and I replied a little while ago." By the time they reached the bank, significant sums of money had already been withdrawn. The perpetrator had actually used the stolen cell phone to text 'Hubby,' as identified in the contact list, and thereby gleaning the PIN.

Moral of the story: Disclosing the precise relationship between you and the people in your contact list comes with risk, as illustrated by this story. Obviously, there may be times when this information may be helpful to a stranger – as in the case of the emergency or accident. Therefore, it would be prudent to give some thought to how you maintain this information. Generally speaking, when sensitive information is being asked through a text message, you might want to confirm by calling back. You can also try putting the SFPD Fraud Unit’s telephone number (415) 553-1521 in as “Hubby.”

Remember, the price of safety is eternal vigilance.

KVR