SAN FRANCISCO—On Wednesday, April 20, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office announced a coordinated operation by the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office’s Special Investigations Unit and the San Francisco Police Department’s Major Crimes Burglary Detail has resulted in more than two dozen felony charges being filed against two defendants for 28 separate residential burglaries over a four-month period.
According to a press release from the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, DA Chesa Boudin announced the charging decisions against Steve Levy and Deshawn White. The District Attorney’s Office charged Levy with 23 counts of first-degree burglary; five counts of attempted first-degree burglary, three counts of first-degree robbery; one count of attempted first-degree robbery; and three counts of elder abuse. White is charged with six counts of first-degree burglary; and two counts of attempted first degree burglary.
“All people deserve to feel and to be safe, especially in their homes,” said District Attorney Chesa Boudin. “Our office’s partnership with the San Francisco Police Department in a lengthy investigation led to the arrests of these two suspects. Together, we will hold them accountable for the harms they caused. The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office Victim Services Division will work to support the victims and connect them with services to address their needs. This critical resource is now possible due to our expansion of the Victim Services Division to include, for the first time in office history, new advocates to support victims of property crime.”
“Few property crimes are as profoundly unsettling to victims as residential burglaries, and they can take an especially traumatic toll on seniors who are robbed of their sense of security in addition to their property,” said Chief of Police Bill Scott. “We hope this case sends a strong message to would-be burglars that they will be held accountable for their wrongdoing in San Francisco, and we’re grateful to all our partners for making this operation so successful. We thank District Attorney Boudin and his team at the D.A.’s Special Investigations Unit for their partnership. We’re grateful to our officers and investigators in SFPD’s Major Crimes Unit’s Burglary Detail, SFPD’s Special Investigations Unit and our Community Violence Reduction Team for their tireless work to put these cases together. We appreciate our Tactical Unit and our law enforcement partners from neighboring jurisdictions who aided them in making the arrests without incident, including the Oakland Police Department SWAT team and the Daly City Police Department SWAT team. Finally, we’re appreciative for the support of our Board of Supervisors, including Supervisor Chan, who work hard to keep our residents safe.”
“Every San Franciscan deserves to be safe on our streets and most definitely in their homes,” said District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan, whose district has experienced an increase in home and garage break-ins. “I want to thank our District Attorney for his diligent and thorough investigation, and for working with the Police Department. Together we keep our communities safe and hold people accountable for the crimes they committed.”
Levy is alleged to have broken into 28 residences and stolen property, jewelry, and money between December 2021 and March 2022. In several instances, the victims were home or returned home during the course of the burglary. White is charged with eight of the burglaries and attempted burglaries on two separate nights. The residences spanned across the city, with a concentration in the Richmond District. In addition to the Richmond, homes were burglarized in the Sunset, the Mission, the Outer Mission, the Excelsior, and Visitation Valley.
The investigation and coordinated operation between the SFDA’s Office’s Special Investigations Unit and SFPD’s Major Crimes’ Burglary Detail is an ongoing partnership between the two departments, working to investigate complex cases that include organized burglaries across the city.
This investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information on any of the incidents is asked to contact the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office at (628) 652-4000 or the San Francisco Police Department’s Anonymous 24/7 Tip Line at (415) 575-4444. Callers can also text a tip by entering TIP411 (847411) in the “To” field and the keyword “SFPD” in the text field, followed by the message.
Levy and White were arrested April 19 by the San Francisco Police Department. Authorities recovered firearms, money, and jewelry during the course of the arrest. Levy and White were arraigned in court on April 20, 2022 at 1:30 p.m.
