Police Beat

by Capt. Patricia Jackson

The holiday season is almost upon us. It's a time when merchants and shoppers are looking forward to making lots of purchases. Generally, it's hoped that a lot of cash and credit card receipts will change hands.

Unfortunately, the shoppers and merchants are not the only people who notice this surge in activity. For merchants, this time also brings an increased loss of merchandise due to shoplifting ­ crooks celebrate the holiday season also!

You will see an increase in foot patrols along the commercial corridors throughout the Richmond District during our holiday season due to the Safe Shopper Program.

If you are a merchant, I realize that you have to deposit your receipts and most of you generally handle this responsibility with caution.

I just want to point out that many of us are creatures of habit. If you generally leave your stores at a certain time each day carrying a certain bag and walk to your local bank branch, your habit may be noticed by some crooks who are only too willing to relieve you of your hard-sought profits wrapped in that bag.

Please vary your route, leave by the back door instead of the front door and leave for the bank at different times.

Thieves like to run on clockwork and depend upon you being a creature of habit.

Member of "1810" Tagging Crew Busted

With the teamwork of Richmond Station police officers and school personnel, we have identified one of the members of the "1810" tagging crew. A warrant will be issued soon on three felony and 11 misdemeanor counts, with a bail of $25,000.

Thank you Officers Turkington and Lopez

The Richmond District is experiencing a rash of graffiti crimes. This crime costs the businesses in the district hundreds, sometimes thousands, of dollars to repair and repaint.

I take the destruction of property very seriously as it has a direct impact on the quality of life of the members of the Richmond District community. I have formed a Richmond Station Task Force, using available statistics and observations, and the midnight watch now has a team focusing its energy on the Geary Boulevard corridor during the early morning hours, when these criminals most often strike.

On Sept. 30, at around 4:45 a.m., officers Turkington and Lopez were driving on Geary Boulevard when a car made an unsafe U-turn in front of them, nearly caused a collision, and then sped off going 35 mph in a 25 mph zone.

After conducting a traffic enforcement stop, the officers quickly tugged at the threads of a series of lies and gained consent to conduct a search of the stopped vehicle and driver.

The search revealed graffiti tools-of-the-trade. Further consensual searches of other occupants revealed more graffiti tools and a closer search of the vehicle yielded even more tools hidden under the dashboard behind a piece of cardboard.

A criminal record search revealed the driver and one passenger to be on felony probation for vandalism out of Santa Clara County. The officers identified all of the occupants, seized all graffiti-related materials, issued a citation for the probable cause of a traffic violation and forwarded all information to the Graffiti Abatement Unit.

The arrested miscreant were:

· Driver: 19 years old, San Jose address;

· Passenger #1: 20 years old, San Jose address;

· Passenger #2: 17 years old, unknown address;

· Passenger #3: 17 years old, San Jose address.

One of the above taggers was arrested in October on 15 different graffiti charges.

Special thanks to John Gray, a resident of the Richmond District, who uses his own time and money to locate graffiti and paint it out. He has taken on this task for the last 10 years. One night, he used three gallons of paint to paint out graffiti left by the "1810" tagging crew.

The trail started at 21st Avenue and Geary Boulevard and spanned throughout the district all the way to Arguello Boulevard.

Richmond Station Collection Toys for Tots

The Richmond Station will again be accepting Christmas toys and gifts for those children in need in the Richmond District. The toys will be distributed to children at the Westside Courts and other centers. Thank you for thinking of those in need.

The monthly Community-Police Forum for November has been cancelled, but the Dec. 17 meeting will be the forum's annual Christmas potluck celebration.

I hope to see you there.

Capt. Patricia Jackson is the commanding officer at the Richmond Police Station.