Officers make good arrests

Capt. Richard Corriea

With the addition of police inspectors to our station's complement, our ability to promptly and affectively follow up on crimes has been significantly enhanced. I am just delighted with the work of the officers and think July is a splendid time to tell you about some major cases that they have solved recently. Each of these cases involves the arrest of a dangerous felon who posed a continuing threat to our community.

Library of Horticulture burglary

On April 9 - 10, a burglary occurred at the Library of Horticulture in Golden Gate Park. The loss from that burglary included several dozen pieces of artwork, mainly comprised of prints of plants and flowers. Many of the items were of both historical and artistic value. The loss was estimated to be $25,000.

The initial investigation produced few solid leads. During the months of April and May a Richmond Station inspector interviewed library employees and volunteers, and ultimately focused on a then unidentified person of interest.

In early June, Richmond Station plainclothes officers responded to the library to search for the suspect, who had been spotted in the vicinity. The officers located the suspect after a search of the area and arrested him. Within hours, officers and inspectors obtained a search warrant and recovered most, if not all, of the property taken in the April burglary.

The suspect was charged with burglary and possession of stolen property. In addition to recovering the items taken in the library burglary, officers recovered numerous other works of art that were taken in at least eight other burglaries and grand thefts at commercial establishments around San Francisco.

The value of the items seized has yet to be fully determined; however, it is expected to be above $100,000.

Park District robbery arrest leads to arrest in Richmond

On an evening in late May, officers from Park Station responded to the area of Fulton Street and Masonic Avenue on a call of a street robbery with a gun.

Since the robbery had occurred quite near the boundary of the Park and Richmond districts, Richmond Station officers responded to the call as well. Following up on good leads, Richmond Station officers were able to arrest several individuals for the Park District robbery within hours of the crime.

Several days prior to the robbery, there had been a similar type of street robbery with a gun in the Richmond. Richmond Station officers were able to tie one of the suspects from the Park District robbery with the robbery in the Richmond, and then charge that individual with an additional count of armed robbery.

Arrest in robbery near USF

On May 25, at 8 p.m., a robbery with a gun occurred at the intersection of Golden Gate Avenue and Chabot Street. Two suspects, one of whom was armed with a handgun, robbed a victim of several items of personal property.

Helpful witnesses provided information that led officers to suspects in several different cities and to arresting a suspect in an East Bay city in early June. The suspect was charged with solid counts of armed robbery.

Washington High School alumni luncheon

On June 25, I attended a George Washington High School alumni luncheon sponsored by Judge George Choppelas at Caesar's Restaurant. The 40 attendees represented graduating classes going back to the '40s. All of them grew up in the Richmond and share a great love for the City and the district.

I told them a bit about policing in the Richmond and changes in department. I really don't think that my remarks were as important to them as was the fact that I had graduated from Washington and live and work in the district of my parents.

I had a great time and left the luncheon with a pleasing sense of connectedness to our many communities and how honored I am to lead the officers at Richmond Station.

If you are interested in attending the next luncheon, please give me a call at the station or e-mail me and I will put you in contact with Choppelas.

Police Commission Coming

The SF Police Commission will be holding its weekly meeting in the Richmond District on July 28, at 6 p.m. Please attend the Commission meeting to share your concerns about public safety with the commissioners. The location for the meeting has not been set as of presstime so please call the Police Commission secretary at (415) 553-1667 for the meeting location. We will not hold our mid-monthly Police Community Relations Forum in July.

The Richmond Station distributes an e-mail newsletter every Friday. It is sent to several hundred e-mail addresses with information about recent crimes, arrests and upcoming events in the district.

To be added to this list, please e-mail us at sfpd.richmond.station@sfgov.org.

Please visit http://richmondforum.wordpress.com to see our website, where the current station newsletter, past editions and periodic public safety advisories are posted.

Captain Richard Corriea is the commanding officer at the Richmond Station.