precita.org

The Martha Brothers coffee shop at 745 Cortland Avenue was robbed this morning, April 29th, around 5:30 AM. Here's the police report:

A black male about 19 to 23 years old, standing 5'9" tall, weighing about 140 pounds, wearing a dark brown hooded sweatshirt, a black ski mask, and blue jeans entered the Martha Brothers coffee shop and brandished a black revolver. He demanded that all present, three employees and two customers, get on the floor. The robber took cash from the shop's cash register and fled the store. No car was seen and the area was searched to no avail. Inspector Danker of the Robbery Detail took over the case. CSI processed the scene. SFPD # 080446957

While not specifically Precita Valley, this is an area where many Precita area residents shop.

Labels: Cortland Ave, crime, police blotter

Police Blotter: April 27, 5:10 pm - Bernal Heights Park

``Officer Lozano and Officer Creed investigated a burglary alarm inside the park They stopped five juveniles loitering near the building in question. One of the juveniles, a 17 year old Bayview District resident, had been reported missing to the SFPD. He was released to his sister. ``

Kids, this is a wireless radio site owned by American Tower Corporation, and . Not only does it have tons of alarms all over it, but it's got video monitoring. When motion is detected on one of the cameras, or an alarm goes off, it is monitored at ATC's control center.

This is not something to mess with. It may look like now one is home, but it's got more monitoring and alarms than you can imagine.

Labels: police blotter

An article in the Chronicle talks about a spate of muggings in Glen Park and nearby Bernal Heights:

The Ingleside police district, which includes those neighborhoods, reported 52 robberies last month, up from 32 in March 2007; robberies increased only slightly citywide during the same period.

The robberies occur between 6 and 9 p.m. and are carried out by groups of two or three teenagers in cars, probably coming from other parts of the city. The holdups do not all appear to be linked to the same perpetrators, though.

We've reported a few of these robberies here, and many people are attributing the increase of crime to higher gas prices and the current economic downturn. So keep your eyes open, report suspicious behavior to 911.

We just got this forwarded from the Dogpatch Neighborhood Assoc:

I have lived on 22nd street for 10 years. Last night around 10:00, my
friend and I were robbed on 22nd Street at Minnesota.
A gun was fired, though not directly at us. We were
lucky, the police informed us that a couple were
robbed about 10 minutes before, at gunpoint, although
they too were unharmed, just traumatized.  As far as I
know two of three suspects are in custody.  A vehicle
was recovered and suspects found in the Potrero
projects. We are waiting to hear if our purses are
among the items recovered

I learned several interesting details from the
investigating officers that I thought I would pass on.

1. The past two weeks have seen a sharp increase in
armed robbery in dogpatch/potrero. (If the chron is
any indicator,
it is not just our neighborhood)

2. They hit multiple victims until they get the money
that they need for that night and then go buy whatever
it is that they want/need.

3. They used a getaway car, which allowed them to get
to the Potrero projects quickly. The officers think
that the shots fired after the crime means that they
were sending a signal to the driver that they were
done and to come get them.

4. They were apparently hiding in the small park that
people use as a dog park on 22nd btwn Minnesota and
Indiana. I parked on that block, and as we exited the
car and were crossing 22nd, they approached us in the
middle of the street asking for directions. We knew
exactly what was happening but there wasn't a soul
around or car in sight. We just threw our purses to
the ground and told them to take them. The whole thing
was over in under 30 seconds.

Please, tell our neighbors to be vigilant, pay
attention to their surroundings, and that there is
nothing in their purses and wallets worth getting shot
over. These people were armed and at least one of them
is still out there.

Here's another report from the Dogpatch area from the Police Blotter:

April 26, 2008-Robbery, Street w/gun-20th/Tennessee-3:56pm-CN#080437053:

Members of Bayview plainclothes unit responded to 20th/Tennessee regarding a robbery. Officers spoke with the victim who told officers that she had spoken to a person on the phone regarding buying a laptop computer from him that he had listed on Craig’s List. The person on the phone told her to meet him at 20th/Tennessee. She arrived and saw a person standing under the bus shelter. She approached the man and asked if he was the one with the laptop for sale. The man replied by telling her to give him her purse. The suspect then pulled out a silver gun and demanded her purse. The suspect ran from the scene with the purse. She chased him down the block while screaming for help. The suspect threw her purse under a car and kept going. Officers searched the area for the suspect, to no avail. The victim was not hurt during the incident.

So there is a lot of stuff going on. Don't be a victim: be aware, but also don't be scared.

Labels: crime

5:35 am April 28th Crescent & Folsom Streets

A 29 year old Bernal Heights man was standing in a bus stop when a black SUV stopped in front of him. Two men approached him from the vehicle. One of the men pointed a chrome hand gun at the victim and demanded that he empty his pockets. The robbers took the victim's belongings and fled in the SUV. Inspector Bini of the Robbery Detail took over both cases.

5:53 pm April 28th Chenery & Miguel Streets

A 50 year old Upper Noe Valley woman had her purse taken by a robber. The man then ran to a black Honda four door and fled the scene in the car.

There were a lot of shoplifting incidents today at Safeway that many neighbors shop at:

12:15 pm 3300 block of Mission Street

Officer Jones responded to a grocery store and took custody of a Visitacion Valley juvenile on shoplifting charges. The 16 year old female was wanted on a Juvenile Court warrant and was turned over to a Probation Officer on the warrant and burglary charges. SFPD # 080443903

3 pm 3300 block of Mission Street

Officer Thompson took custody of a shoplifting suspect and cited the 54 year old SOMA man for petty theft. SFPD # 080444553

4:20 pm 3300 block of Mission Street

Officer McWilliams took custody of a shoplifting suspect and booked a 34 year old man at Ingleside Station for petty theft because he did not qualify for release on a promise to appear. SFPD # 080445040

Labels: crime, police blotter

April 16, 2008 8:55 pm 100 block of Precita Ave.

A witness saw two robbers sneak up on two women as they walked on Precita Avenue. The robbers took the womens' purses and ran to Coso Avenue where they fled in a white four door car with a blue fender.

[There seems to be a slight rash or purse-snatchings on Precita between Mission and Shotwell, keep your eyes open! - Editor]

Labels: crime, police blotter

Police Captain Denis O'Leary informs us:

The Bernal Heights neighborhood has been struck by robbers in a Chevrolet Astro van with a stripe on its side. This van may have been used in robberies in other parts of San Francisco. Report suspicious activity to the police.

Ingleside Station has increased its staffing in the Bernal Heights neighborhood.

[The events happened last night, on the South side of Bernal Hill park.]


April 14th 8:30 pm Ellsworth St. & Eugenia Ave.

A 36 year old Bernal Heights woman was confronted by two robbers who demanded her purse. She surrendered her wallet and the two men ran away.

April 14th 10:10 pm Bocana St. & Powhattan Ave.

A 35 year old Bernal Heights woman was walking home when two robbers approached her from a green Chevrolet Astro van with a stripe on its side. One of the robbers placed a hard object against the victim's side and demanded her belongings. The woman surrendered a Walkman and a coin purse. The robbers fled in the van.

Labels: crime, police blotter

From the police blotter: good news: they caught the guys. Bad news, some innocent bystander's van got shot up.

4:15 pm Cesar Chavez and Bryant Streets

Ingleside and Mission Station officers responded to the neighborhood on the call of shots fired. Citizens reported seeing a gunman firing shots from an SUV. The investigation brought officers to the first block of Gold Mine Drive in the Diamond Heights neighborhood. There the officers found a handgun and ammunition. Three males: a 19 year old from the Mission District, another 19 year from Diamond Heights, and a 17 year old from the mid-Market Street neighborhood, were arrested for aggravated assault and gang charges.

Labels: crime, gang, gangs, police blotter, precita, Precita Park, Precita Valley Neighbors, pvn

We received an anonymous comment about the shots fired Friday early evening:

You bet thre were shots fired. My van was struck at 564 Precita. Major damage done. Police investigated, no arrest, no motive. Some kind of pursuit on foot and car. will send pics of damage to my vehicle and have poilce report number if interested.

This is near the liquor store on the corner of Florida and Precita. Glad no one got hurt. If you can post the pics on flickr or somewhere, we'd like to see them.

Labels: crime

We just enjoying the lovely day outside, above Precita Park, and heard 5 shots fired at about 4:08pm. Couldn't tell exactly where they were coming from, definitely somewhere down near Cesar Chavez, probably between Folsom and Alabama.

Anyone else hear them?

Update: Shots were fired near Precita and Florida, a van was damaged. No one was hurt.

Labels: crime, police blotter

The next Precita Valley Neighbors meeting will also be gardening in the park, so meet at 10:00 am, Saturday April 19th, in the children's playground in Precita Park (not at the usual Charlie's Cafe location).

Here's the update from Demece Garepis:

John Miller, the Supervisor of District 9 Park and Recreation Dept., has asked PVN to pull out the crab grass between the black square rubber pads in the Childrens’ Playground and help provide garden maintenance inside the Childrens’ Playground. He has generously allocated enough maintenance and tree renewal for the triangle and the Park this spring – thanks John and Davida! We will be using our garden shovels to remove crab grass inside the Childrens’ Playground and around the Butterfly Garden.

David Robinson (285-5957) and Demece Garepis (641-0507) are the PVN Co-Chairs. To get added to the email list for PVN, contact demecegarepis (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Labels: Precita Park, Precita Valley Neighbors

Demece Garepis has notified us that the May 10th Solar Picnic in Precita Park is delayed until the final approval is made for local San Francisco solar panel rebates. "The local rebate, already funded through PG&E via the SFPUC, is clearing an approval process through the Board of Supervisors. See the solar update file below. Chris Bennett will represent PVN at the Board of Supervisors May 16th Finance Committee meeting to support solar panel rebates."

Subject: Update on solar rebate program

I wanted to provide an update on the solar rebate program that was heard earlier this week in the Board of Supervisors' Budget Committee. Many of you have been following this issue for the last several months, while others have recently inquired about the status of the program due to personal interest in installing solar on your rooftops. The solar rebate program that the Mayor and Assessor Ting have crafted that was scheduled for implementation on April 1 has been stalled by legislation at the Board of Supervisors to freeze funding for the program.

Additionally, legislation to establish the solar rebate program on a long-term, 10-year basis has been stuck in a Board of Supervisors Committee.

The legislation to freeze funding for the solar program that was heard this week was actually not advanced out of committee (a good thing for solar), but rather scheduled for another hearing on Wednesday, April 16 at 1PM.

Supervisors said they had several questions on the program that they wanted to research in the next two weeks. During this time, we are engaging Supervisor McGoldrick and other committee members to continue to answer questions they have and address any of their concerns. We will also likely succeed in getting the legislation to establish the solar program on a long-term basis heard at the same hearing on April 16.

Mayor Newsom and Assessor Ting remain fully committed to implementing this legislation, either through the Board of Supervisors in the coming weeks or if need be, through the ballot process later this year. Currently, we are working hard to have this program supported by the Board of Supervisors, which would ensure that the program can be implemented immediately.

A sincere thanks to all who have emailed, called and testified in support of the solar rebate program at the Board of Supervisors. This advocacy has been very helpful to convincing Supervisors about the broad support for the solar rebate program and the strong opposition within the environmental and renewable energy communities to stalling or prohibiting this initiative.

Your continued advocacy in the next two weeks with Supervisors and their staff members, and at the hearing on April 16, will be key to both removing the threat of freezing the funding for the program and approving the legislation to establish the solar rebates as a 10-year program.

Thank you very much for you interest and advocacy on this important environmental legislation.

Wade Crowfoot
Director of Climate Protection Initiatives
Office of Mayor Gavin Newsom

Labels: Precita Park, Precita Valley Neighbors

According to the SFPD: A 26 year old Mission District man reported being mugged. He was struck in the face by his assailant and his wallet was taken on April 9th at 1AM (Wednesday early morning) at Precita Avenue and Folsom Street.

Labels: crime, police blotter, Precita Park, Precita Valley Neighbors

Tiffany tells us about the upcoming Neighborhood Watch Meeting:

Wanted to let you all know we will be having our next Neighborhood Watch Meeting Thursday, April 10 at 6:30 at Mona Tong's office, 326 Precita Ave.

It will be our 5th meeting! Please join us and invite other's to help get this group underway. Last months meeting was great and some cool new things have developed since then!

Labels: Neighborhood Watch

SFGate has an interesting, interactive map of Homicides in San Francisco 2007/2008. Zoom in to see the clump around S. Van Ness and C. Chavez.

Labels: crime