After more than two decades, police continue to try to seek leads in the case of Thea Slater, a San Francisco woman who was tragically killed while working in the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood.

SFPD cold case investigators are offering a newly upped $100,000 reward for any information on the homicide of the 39-year-old single mother of three that occurred in 2002.

Slater's family told KTVU that they have new hope that a new reward and renewed attention on the case will lead to the person responsible. The victim's aunt, Icyphene Peterson, described the struggle of coming to terms with Slater's death to the news station, saying, "It was disbelief. I didn't want to believe it. And for a long time, I didn't believe that this has happened to my niece. Very, very difficult."

According to police, Slater was working in an unoccupied townhouse at 68 Navy Road in the Bayview District on October 19, 2002 when she was attacked by an unknown person(s) with a weapon. She had been removing carpet from the townhouse, which was in the federally subsidized All Hallows Gardens housing development at 68 Navy Road, said Inspector Mike Johnson of the homicide detail at the time, per the Chronicle's reporting. The units in the development were apparently plagued by toxic mold and other problems.

Police believe that Slater was targeted, and that her killer entered the unit through an unlocked door while she was working on the carpets on the third floor. The struggle began on the top floor and ended in the bathroom on the first floor, where Slater was found dead with multiple stab wounds.

Slater had struggled with drug addiction in the past, her relatives said according to KTVU, but had been sober at the time of the homicide. Both family members and police are uncertain whether this played a role in her killing.

Investigators are also currently retesting DNA found at the scene in hopes of shedding new light on the case, according to KTVU.

But one thing is certain: Slater's family is still fighting for the truth, and they believe it will come. As her daughter Tiyesha Slater said to KTVU, "She did not deserve this. Justice will be served. I love you mommy. I miss you."

Authorities are asking anyone with information regarding this homicide to contact Homicide Cold Case Investigator Daniel Cunningham at 415 553-9515, Investigator Daniel Dedet at 415 553-1450, Sgt. Alan Levy at 415 553-9245 or through Department Operations Center (DOC) at 415 553-1071.

Image via SFPD.

32-year-old Samuel St. Pierre was visiting SF from Placer County when he was shot and killed on June 19, and police are now offering $50,000 for information that could help lead to an arrest.

It was last June when a then-identified man was shot and killed in the Marina District, near the intersection of Francisco and Scott Streets, with no apparent motive. We have have since learned the victim was 32-year-old Samuel St. Pierre, visiting from Placer County, but we have not learned much more. That’s why SFPD is now offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of St. Pierre's killer, according to the Chronicle.  

“It is believed that St. Pierre did not know his killer,” SFPD says in their reward announcement. “The unknown suspect fled the shooting in a grey 2014-2016 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited."

That announcement also includes an image of the Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited in question, seen above.

As KTVU explains, the incident occurred “in the Marina District on the night of June 19,” which was a Sunday evening. Police found St. Pierre with a gunshot wound at 10:35 p.m. that evening, and per KTVU, he was “pronounced dead at the hospital where he was transported.”

Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact Sgt. Delany at 415-734-3102, or contact the SFPD tip line 415-575-4444 or text a tip to 847411 (TIP411) and type "SFPD" along with the tip. Tipsters can remain anonymous.

Related: One Person Fatally Shot In the Marina District Sunday Night [SFist]

Image: SFPD

Police and an organization called Mothers Against Murder are offering a $20,000 reward for help capturing and convicting a suspect in a double-homicide that occurred in mid-October 2018 in an industrial park in East Palo Alto.

Eduardo "Lalo" Alvarado Sandoval, 22, and Mario Andres Vidales Mendez, 23, were gunned down on October 14, 2018 at what was described as a pre-Halloween birthday party at the A1 Auto Services & Towing lot on the 2500 block of Pulgas Avenue in East Palo Alto. As the Palo Alto Daily Post reported at the time, the suspect in the case went un-captured by police in the months following the double-murder, and San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe suggested he may have fled to Mexico.

Now, as Palo Alto Online reports, the reward is being offered and authorities are making the suspect's name public. He is Julian Rico Santana, and he's described as being 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing 240 pounds, and having black hair and brown eyes.

"He's nowhere to be found for two years now, leaving families of his violence in a lot of pain and desperate for justice," says Margaret Petros, executive director of Mothers Against Murder, in a statement.

According to investigators, Santana allegedly arrived uninvited at the party two years ago and ended up getting in an altercation that led to him allegedly shooting four people, fatally wounding Sandoval and Vidales Mendez.  Sandoval's mother, Veronica Sandoval, said previously that she believed alcohol was a factor in the altercation — and authorities have said they did not believe the incident was gang-related.

Veronica Sandoval posted a video to Facebook in December 2018 to plea with public for tips in finding the suspect. "Oct. 14, 2018, the last day I saw my living son," she said. "That day our lives changed forever, as a mother, every member of my family and anyone else's hearts that in some way were touched by my son."

Mothers Against Murder, an advocacy organization based in Palo Alto and founded in 2003, originally offered a $5,000 reward for information in the case back in April 2019.

Anyone who may have witnessed the shooting or has any information about the shooting is urged to contact the East Palo Alto Police Detective Aleyda Romero at 650-853-7249. Anonymous tipsters can send an anonymous email to epa@tipnow.org, text 650-409-6792, or leave an anonymous voice mail at 650-409-6792.

After months of fruitlessly searching for a serial bank robber responsible for multiple San Francisco heists, the Federal Bureau of Investigation announced yesterday that they's be doubling the reward money for anyone providing them with information leading to his capture and conviction.

We've discussed the robber, dubbed "The Dreaded Bandit" by the FBI, before. Clad in a Muni jacket, the suspect also wore "tan-colored makeup, a dark-colored wig simulating long hair, [and] a fake beard," the FBI says, as he robbed the Provident Credit Union, located at 2727 South El Camino Real in San Mateo, at approximately 9:45 a.m. on May 12, 2016.

According to the FBI, he is also "responsible for a bank robbery that took place at the First Republic Bank, located at 2001 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, California, on April 22, 2016."

On July 11, the FBI says that the same man robbed a Comerica Bank at Union and Buchanan, wearing the white makeup you see above as he did. According to the SFPD, the suspect demanded cash from a teller, then "jumped over the counter and entered into the vault," taking an undisclosed amount of "currency from the vault and teller drawers" before fleeing on foot.

Here's some surveillance video that the FBI says is from the Union Street heist:

Though the makeup makes his appearance difficult to determine, the FBI says they believe that the suspect is a white or Hispanic man in his 30s, standing about six feet tall and with a "skinny" build.

The FBI initially offered a $5000 reward for information leading to his apprehension and prosecution, but Monday they doubled that reward, to $10,000. If you know anything about the suspect, which the FBI says is "considered armed and dangerous," contact their SF-area field office at 415-553-7400.

Previously: 'Dreaded Bandit' Wearing Muni Jacket Robs Two Bay Area Banks
Union Street Bank Vault Raided By Robber

An Oakland community organization is offering a reward of up to $15,000 to the person who helps bring a man who kidnapped, robbed and sexually assaulted a woman on an Oakland street to justice.

Bay City News reports that at 1:30 a.m. Sunday, a 23-year-old woman was walking on the 2300 block of Broadway, which is between 23rd and 24th Avenues in Downtown Oakland. From behind her came a stranger who threatened her with a handgun before forcing her to "walk to a secluded location nearby where he robbed and sexually assaulted her," BCN reports.

The suspect then fled on foot, police say, but not before he was caught on (extremely blurry) surveillance footage. Here's the still police released of the suspect. It's not great:

The Oakland Police Department is hoping that that wasn't the only footage of the suspect they'll find OPD spokesperson. Officer Johnna Watson told ABC7 that "We also ask anyone who may live or work in the area if you have video surveillance, check your surveillance on the 17 right after 12:30 p.m. and on January 10 after 1:30 a.m."

Police say that this might not be the first time this man has attacked, as Sunday morning's assault is very similar to an incident near Piedmont Avenue and Randwick Avenue just after midnight on December 17. In that case, the suspect kidnapped and robbed the victim, and attempted to sexually assault her before he fled.

According to police, the suspect is male, in his 20s, and is possibly white or Hispanic. They say he "is tall and has a medium build." He was last seen wearing a a black bandana, a black sweatshirt with a hood, a black baseball cap, dark pants and black shoes with red trim.

OPD asks that anyone with information on the case call their special victims section at (510) 238-3641. Tipsters can also call Crime Stoppers of Oakland, which is offering a reward of up to $15,000 for information that will lead to the arrest of the suspect, at (510) 777-8572.

Though it's been eight years since 20-year-old Alberto Casillas was shot to death while driving in SoMa, the San Francisco Police Department hasn't given up on trying to catch his killers. On the anniversary of his slaying, police are reminding everyone that his shooters remain on the loose, and that a $250,000 reward still stands for anyone who leads cops to the people responsible.

It was 2:17 a.m. on Jan. 7, 2007 when Casillas was shot and killed while driving his silver GMC Yukon SUV near 13th and Folsom Streets.

Witnesses told police that the shooters were black men between 18 and 25 years old, at least one of whom had apparently brandished a gun at Casillas earlier that night at the Caliente Club, a since-closed bar located at 11th and Folsom Streets.

Police say that one shooter is a large man with a dark complexion standing 6 feet 4 inches tall and weighing over 200 pounds. He was wearing a long black jacket and a black T-shirt with a white square on the chest area at the time of the crime.

The other man was described as standing 5 feet 8 inches tall and weighing 160 pounds, with short hair with a prominent widow's peak. He was wearing a dark T-shirt the morning of the shooting.

Here's an SFPD sketch of both:

Police say that they were driving a silver car, perhaps a Honda Civic or a Nissan Maxima, with a low spoiler on the back and a partial license plate of 166.

For several years since the slaying, police have reminded San Franciscans that there is a $250,000 reward for information leading to the apprehension of Casillas' killers, but thus far, it remains unclaimed.

Perhaps this will be the year this crime is solved? One can always hope. This year, SFPD says that the person to contact with any with information about the case is Gianrico Pierucci of the San Francisco Police Homicide Detail, at (415) 553-1145. There's also an anonymous tip line, for those willing to forego the $250K, at (415) 575-4444.

Hunter Pence remains in a state of deep melancholia after his scooter was swiped from outside Epic Roasthouse on Sunday. "He had a sad face on," Bochy said in the hours following the theft. "I've never seen that from Hunter." But a faint, barely perceivable glimmer of hope appears on the horizon for the millionaire ballplayer.

Lefty O'Doul's will dole out $200 and two free drinks to the person who returns Pence's stolen scooter. The guy or gal who lifted Pence's ride will not only get two crisp, unmarked $100 bills, they will also get 10-minute head start before Giants fans take matters into their own hands.

"O'Doul's has a lot of Pence fans," old-time press agent Lee Houskeeper tells SFist. "If they want to sit and drink, that's up to them, but we've got a lot of Hunter Pence fans."

As for surveillance, there will be camera rolling in the bar; however, none of it will go to the police. "[The thief] can trust us; they'll be anonymous. There will be surveillance, yes, but we will not give any footage to Chief Shur. We will protect their anonymity." (The scooter can be returned to Lefty O'Doul's at 333 Geary, M-F 7:00 am - 2:00 am.)

In related news, Epic Roasthouse will give two free dinners for the scooter's return. And Pence himself will offer a reward of an autographed Pence-on-scooter bobblehead.

[SFGate]

A $7,500 reward is being offered for information leading to the capture of a man who sexually assaulted a six-year-old girl after luring her from an Oakland school.

The Oakland Police Department says that at around 3:15 PM on Friday, a man led the victim away from the school and assaulted her. After the assault, the child returned to the school and told an adult what had happened to her. The adult then reported the assault to police.

The suspect is described as "a Hispanic male in his early 20s standing between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 10 inches tall, with an average build and black hair." Police say that he was wearing a blue and black jacket with black shorts at the time of the assault. According to the Chron, the suspect "may have a tattoo of a horse face on his left calf."

The man may have been driving a silver, four-door SUV, police said.

Crime Stoppers of Oakland is offering a $7,500 reward for information leading to an arrest in this case, which, the Chron suggests, might be connected to two other very similar incidents earlier this year in East Oakland.

According to the Contra-Costa Times, the man depicted in the sketch above has entered at least two other East Oakland school campuses, where he then touched two young girls in an inappropriate manner. One assault happened on January 24 of this year at Think College Now Elementary School, the other on March 7 at the the World Academy-Education for Change school.

Do you have any information on this or the other cases, or know someone who might? Then you're urged to contact the Oakland Police Department’s Special Victims Section at (510) 238-3641, the tip line at (510) 637-0298, or Crime Stoppers of Oakland’s tip line at (510) 777-8572.

Andrew "Drew" Thomas, 20, and his son, Drew Jackson, 16 months old, were shot and killed on August 7 when someone fired shots into their Brookfield Village home on Ghormley Avenue. The reward to find their killer(s) has grown to $30,000.

Police think that Thomas was killed by a known enemy whose son, Oakland's youngest homicide victim in over a decade, was also intentionally targeted.

Oakland Tribune reports:

"This isn't a street shooting where someone drives by and gets shot," said homicide investigator Officer Jason Andersen. "This isn't just random street violence."

Even in a city that last year was ranked the 7th most dangerous city in America by the FBI, veteran homicide investigators say that targeting the child of a rival is an unnerving trend that police didn't see even 10 years ago.

"The type of violence we see (these days) is not what it used to be," said Andersen, who has been on the force for 22 years. "When I first came on (the force) if (someone) had their children that was a free pass" to avoid gun violence at that moment, he said.

From 5 to 9 p.m. today at Breakin Bread Clubhouse (9116 International Blvd.), a fundraiser will take place in an effort to raise money for the cost of funerals. Additional reward money might be announced as well.

Two terrier mixes found with missing limbs, caked in their own urine and feces, and eventually put to sleep due to their injuries were discovered Friday at an abandoned San Bruno condo complex. Once found, the pair were whisked to a nearby San Mateo veterinary hospital, which prompted the staff to exclaim that "the dogs were in the worst condition they had ever seen.

SF Examiner has more:

The female was missing a front right paw, had a fractured pelvis and also a broken left leg with an exposed bone that was rounded at the edges. She was thin, weighing just 11 pounds after 7 pounds of matted fur were removed. The male, a black-and-white terrier mix, also was extremely thin and had a pronounced heart murmur, an extremely enlarged heart, pale gums and a broken leg.

And it just gets worse. The pooches, found free of maggots, were determined to be indoor dogs, little fellas who suffered at the hands of whomever lived at the residence before fleeing. The dogs had to be euthanized.

The Peninsula Humane Society and SPCA is asking for your help in finding the person(s) responsible for the egregious acts of animal abuse. The humane society has offering a generous $5,000 reward "to anyone who can lead them to the cruel pet owners, who might be torturing other animals." Tips can be directed to the San Bruno Police Department at 650-616-7100 or the Peninsula Humane Society at 650-340-7022.

WildRescue put up a $5,000 reward for information leading up to an arrest and conviction for the person(s) responsible for shooting a red-tail hawk with a nail gun. "Animal rescuers are trying to capture a wild, red-tailed hawk loose in Golden Gate Park that may have been shot with a nail gun, reports the Chronicle. "Rescuers will set two traps in the park and hope they can safely secure the bird and take it to veterinarian, said Rebecca Dmytryk, director of WildRescue, a Monterey-based animal ambulance."

According to WildRescue, the nail hurt the little fella pretty severely. "The framing nail [went] through the bird's skull. The bird is VERY alert and still flighted. They will be using a bal-chatri to trap the raptor."

Sad.

Tips and info about the shooting can be directed to WildRescue at 831-429-2323 or rescue@wildrescue.org.