SAN FRANCISCO—On Friday, August 24, three men wanted for four robberies in the Richmond District were nabbed by San Francisco Police officers after a thorough investigation.
The arrests culminated an afternoon which began with two male suspects arriving at a store in the 5800 block of Geary Boulevard dressed in dark clothing, one wearing a ski mask and each of them armed with handguns. After ordering an employee to lie on the floor, the suspects smashed a glass display case using a hammer and stole various pieces of jewelry. A second employee at the back of the store that heard the robbery in progress emerged and surprised the suspects who fled the scene on foot. The employee chased the suspects to 23rd Avenue before one of the suspects pointed a gun at him. The suspect proceeded to get into a grey Volkswagen which began driving away. Meanwhile, the second suspect followed the vehicle on foot and reaching Clement Street. While the employee reached the intersection of 23rd Avenue and Clement, there was no sign of the suspects and the vehicle.
After officers from the Richmond District Station arrived at the scene around 2:45pm, an investigation was conducted which led to the discovery of the suspects’ parked, unattended vehicle in the 100 block of 22nd Avenue. Several pieces of evidence from the robbery were visible in the car, including a hammer and ski mask. Further investigation led to the identity of one suspect who was located at Geary and Webster Street. Two additional suspects were discovered at a residence on the 400 block of 28th Avenue. A 50-year old male, a 48-year-old male and a 23-year-old male, all residents of San Francisco, were arrested and booked at Richmond Station on charges of robbery, burglary and conspiracy.
Not long after, officers observed the men matched the description of suspects who were wanted for other armed robberies that occurred in the Richmond District in the last few days. The first one was on August 18 at 9:24pm when two suspects armed with guns robbed a restaurant in the 4400 block of Cabrillo Street. Other robberies the suspects were connected to was a August 20 robbery of a store in the 2100 block of Clement Avenue and an August 24 robbery of another store in the 3900 block of Balboa at 12 midnight. The SFPD’s Major Crimes Unit was able to recover evidence that linked the suspects to the robberies and they were charged with these additional crimes.
Booking photos and names of the suspects were unavailable as of press time due to pending identification matters.
