Richmond Burglaries Down, Suspects at Large

By Charles Talkoff

A series of break-ins that had been targeting homes in the city's Sunset and Richmond districts have dissipated and spread to other neighborhoods after reaching "epidemic proportions" in the spring of 2005. The break-ins were all targeting older-style "tunnel-entrance" homes built during the '40s and '50s.

"There has been a slow-down in the number of break-ins, but we're continuing to watch the situation," said Inspector Louis Bronfeld, of the SF Police Department's burglary unit.

The most recent break-ins have occurred in the Upper Market Street and Diamond Heights areas. In one break-in, residents were at home and tied-up with electrical cords while their home was ransacked for valuables. The robbery unit's Steve Morimoto said the robbers were still operating as they had in the past, and that the incident did not demonstrate a tendency toward escalation.

"No one was injured," he said. "It wasn't a home invasion scenario, and that's good news. If it had involved violence, we'd be looking at a whole different situation."

Bronfeld reiterated that the descriptions of the suspects remains unchanged from the period when the break-ins reached their peak several months ago.

"We're still looking for two Asian men in their 20s and a white male in his 30s, and we're still hoping an alert neighbor will see them," he said. "These guys (the thieves) are in and out fast and hit the homes in broad daylight after casing it to make sure no one is home; the people being home in the recent incident is probably an accident," Bronfeld said.

Morimoto said the incident in which people were bound by electrical cords at home involved an apartment that had been converted to house foreign students. He said another individual was in their room during the break-in, but went unnoticed by the thieves.

The tunnel-entrance homes, mostly in the Sunset District, have iron gates that the thieves force open with a pry-bar. A space between the gate and the frame allows the thieves to force the gate open. The gates to the homes are broken open and then the front door is forced open. The frame is often heavily damaged because the thieves smash the doors knowing they cannot be seen from the street. The tunnel entrance homes have gates and the entrances are usually obscured from street view, giving the burglars cover to ransack the home's bedrooms in search of valuables.

Bronfeld estimates the thieves have stolen roughly $100,000 in property.

"They take jewels and cash," and anything small enough to carry away in a coat pocket, he said.

The police still recommend that residents improve the gates on their homes. Many residents have ironworkers weld metal flanges over the gap between the gate and the frame to secure their homes. The cost of replacing the older gates with newer ones that have small gaps can be as much $1,000 while welding a flange costs about $200.

"The thieves don't want to take any more time than they have to," said Bronfeld. "They won't hit a home that's had the gate improved. "The break-ins have slowed in part due to (press) coverage."

Police are actively investigating all leads in the on-going case. Anyone who sees any suspicious activity is encouraged to call the police department.