SAN FRANCISCO—On June 14, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office disclosed that Joshua David Chavez, 37, was convicted after a trial by jury for shoplifting from a Sunset District Safeway and resisting arrest. He was convicted of one count of petty theft (PC 490.2) and one count of resisting, delaying or obstructing a peace officer (PC 148(a)(1)).
According to evidence and other testimony presented at trial, on February 28, Chavez entered the Safeway on the 2300 block of Noriega Street and stole a bottle of sake as well as a six pack of Fort Point beer worth a total of $30.83.
As the defendant tried to leave the store, Safeway loss prevention staff and security approached him in efforts to retrieve the items. Chavez refused and threw the sake bottle on the ground. He ran away from loss prevention and threw a can of beer down as he left the store. He left the store with the remaining beers without paying, which he was later found with about a block away from the Safeway. When officers from the San Francisco Police Department found him, he resisted arrest and delayed further investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Elliott Brooks, with assistance from District Attorney Investigators Erica Dixon and Rich Nevin as well as paralegals Joshua Nickchen and Andres Hernandez-Ruano. The case was successfully prosecuted based on a thorough investigation by the San Francisco Police Department’s Taraval Station.
“Theft crimes plague the city of San Francisco and oftentimes. they are easy to overlook as the unfortunate ‘norm’,” said Assistant District Attorney Elliott Brooks. “However, when given the opportunity to make a difference, this jury thoughtfully applied the evidence to the law to reach a just result.”
Chavez is currently in custody. His sentencing is scheduled for Monday, July 1.
