• Oakland is gearing up for its ninth annual Black Joy Parade Sunday in celebration of Black History Month, which is expected to draw more than 30,000 attendees. The parade will consist of over 100 contingents and 4,500 participants, featuring live performances and a festival with more than 200 Black-owned businesses, nonprofits, artists, and performers. [Bay Area News Group]

• A robbery suspect in Antioch was shot during an altercation with a police officer early Friday morning as they both fought for control of a moving vehicle. The car then hit a patrol car as well as a nearby store, and the suspect is expected to survive. [Bay Area News Group]
• Authorities are investigating Blackbird Mountain Guides, the company that led the group of skiers caught in the deadly avalanche near Lake Tahoe Tuesday, as an avalanche watch had been issued two days prior, followed by a severe warning the morning of the avalanche, and they’re looking into whether criminal negligence could be a factor. [CBS News]

National:

• Following Barack Obama’s mic drop of an interview last weekend where he said he believes aliens are real, President Donald Trump accused him of revealing classified information. While Obama has since clarified that he meant aliens are likely real statistically (but never saw any evidence as president), Trump said he’s directed the defense department to look into any potential classified government investigations on aliens. [BBC]
• Proponents of the “Make America Healthy Again” movement are turning against Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after Trump issued an executive order this week boosting domestic production of the weedkiller glyphosate. [Reuters]
• United Parcel Service is closing 22 of its package facilities nationwide and cutting 30,000 jobs, as its partnership with Amazon comes to an end and the company extends its automation capabilities. [Yahoo Finance]

Video of the Day:

Back in September 2024, Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu took part in the grand re-opening of Muni’s L Taraval train. Liu also recorded a welcome message for Muni riders in Mandarin and English.

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

The Oakland Police Department says when officers responded to a report of a break-in at a residence, they were informed that someone tied to the break-in was suffering from a medical emergency. After a brief scuffle, the suspect became unresponsive before dying at the hospital.

Update: As KPIX reports, the suspect was identified as former Oakland Raiders running back Doug Martin. No further details have been provided.

As the Chronicle reports, police responded to a call from a house on the 11000 block of Ettrick Street in Oakland’s Chabot Park neighborhood around 4:15 am Saturday. Per KRON4, officers attempted to detain the suspect, resulting in a brief struggle. The suspect was then taken into custody before becoming unresponsive.

The police department posted on Facebook that paramedics provided medical aid at the scene before transporting the person to the hospital where they later died, per NBC Bay Area.

Per the Chronicle, the officers involved in the incident have been placed on administrative leave, and the case is being investigated by the department’s internal affairs bureau, as well as the Oakland Police Commission, Community Police Review Agency, and Alameda County District Attorney’s Office.

Image: Daniel Tadevosyan/Getty Images

Folsom Street Fair weekend will be a lot less joyful on the dance floors, as local DJ Bus Station John had his shoulder shattered in a recent sidewalk fall, and then someone robbed him while he was injured on the ground.

Anyone who’s been around the SF gay club scene over the last 20 years is surely familiar with the bearded bear behind the DJ decks known as Bus Station John. Perhaps best known for his underground disco club Tubesteak Connection at Aunt Charlie’s Lounge and Disco Daddy at The Eagle, Bus Station John was also a driving force behind the mostly male Mikes on Bikes contingent that used to ride in the Pride Parade. And Bus Station John has always been an iconoclast in openly discouraging cellphones on the dance floor, hoping to foster connection in the crowd.    

But this weekend’s upcoming Folsom Street fair parties will unfortunately not feature one of the leather scene’s favorite DJs. According to KRON4 Bus Station John was badly injured in a fall and then robbed recently in South of Market, shattering a shoulder and now looking at a months-long recovery.

“On a recent Friday night in SOMA on his way to The STUD, our DISCO DADDY aka DJ Bus Station John tripped and fell on a raised crack in the sidewalk near 7th & Folsom, shattering his shoulder when he hit the cement,” according to a GoFundMe for DJ Bus Station John. “While laying face down on the pavement in a state of shock---and to add insult to (literal) injury---BSJ was robbed of his wallet by a passerby who'd initially approached him pretending to ‘help.’"

That GoFundMe campaign adds that DJ Bus Station John has “undergone surgery to repair multiple fractures in his left shoulder, and now faces the painful, lengthy process of recovery and physical therapy to help regain the use of his arm.”

Needless to say, losing the use of one’s arm affects one’s ability to DJ.

According to the GoFundMe, Bus Station John does have health insurance to cover the medical bills. But he will be unable to work or maintain his livelihood for at least the next several months, and will need support for living expenses like “rent, utilities, food, non-covered therapy treatment and other survival essentials [that] loom ahead.”

Related: Hi/Lo: Bus Station John vs. The Fairmont [SFist]

Instagram via tablehooper

Nicholas Pellegrino, a 29-year-old San Francisco Catholic high school teacher and track coach, is recovering after his throat was slashed in a train robbery while traveling near Milan, Italy — a survival he and his surgeons call “miraculous.”

As the Chronicle reports, Pellegrino, who teaches religion and coaches track at Archbishop Riordan High School, was traveling through San Giuliano Milanese on July 15 while visiting friends and family in Italy. As SFGate reports, shortly after boarding a train bound for Florence, Pellegrino noticed four men in a nearby row who appeared to be watching him.

“I would look up, and they would look away, but then they’d continue to look back and eye me out,” he told Staten Island Advance, his hometown newspaper. The men then suddenly rushed him, and he was stabbed in the neck in the chaos. They ran off with his luggage and personal belongings, including a crucifix he was wearing.

“I had no doubt in my mind — if I didn’t get help soon, I was going to die,” he told the Chronicle. Bleeding heavily, Pellegrino staggered to the platform at the next stop, pressed his shirt against the wound, and screamed for help.

As Daily Mail reports, paramedics arrived about 15 minutes later and rushed him to a hospital in San Donato Milanese, where doctors determined his jugular artery had been grazed. He lost more than a liter of blood. “Even the surgeons are saying it was a miracle,” he told the Chronicle.

Italian authorities arrested four suspects — men from Tunisia and Morocco — hours later at a train station about an hour away. Police told Pellegrino they believed the same group had attacked a cabdriver the night before and another train passenger earlier that day.

Pellegrino spent four days in the hospital before being discharged. In addition to his injuries, he lost his laptop, passport, and luggage.

Word of the assault quickly spread to colleagues and students. Nate Simon, assistant principal at Riordan, called Pellegrino “an integral part” of the school. “Our thoughts and prayers are with him as he deals with this terrifying incident,” he said.

A GoFundMe campaign* started by former students has raised over $43,000 to help cover medical expenses and replace stolen items. “I would never have expected that outpouring of money and support,” Pellegrino said. “It shows the impact you have being an educator is more than people might think.”

Pellegrino, who is deeply religious, said the attack has only deepened his faith. “I’m convinced the hand of God worked a miracle to ensure I did not lose my life that day.”

*Content warning: The main photo on the GoFundMe page is a bit graphic, as it shows Pellegrino being treated at the scene.

Image via LinkedIn

Image: Leanne Maxwell/SFist

Someone connected to the cleaning crew at the legacy queer bar SF Eagle allegedly broke in and stole $30,000 in cash and checks early Monday morning, and one arrest has been made while another suspect is still at large.

It's a big punch in the gut to the 43-year-old South of Market leather bar SF Eagle, as KTVU reports that the bar was robbed of nearly $30,000 in an early Monday morning heist at about 4 am. And the bar’s owner recognizes one of the suspects as “the boyfriend of a woman who's part of the cleaning crew,” according to KTVU, as the suspects had keys (or copies of keys) to SF Eagle, as well as a code to disable the alarm.

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“On Monday shortly after midnight, the SF Eagle, a historic and beloved LGBTQ+ establishment, was targeted in a burglary that resulted in significant property damage and the theft of a large sum of cash,” the bar said in a Wednesday Instagram post. “Intruders gained unauthorized access. Among the losses were recent bar receipts, employee tips, inventory and equipment.”

The KTVU segment above shows security video of the suspects wheeling out a safe that reportedly contained “up to $25,000 and checks for bartenders.”

"This type of situation is really demoralizing, devastating, really," SF Eagle owner Lex Montiel told the station. As for the suspect he recognized, Montiel told KTVU, “They were related to the cleaning operation, people who previously helped me to do events and things like that.”

KTVU adds that police have arrested 31-year-old Lucas Molina-Hernandez Wednesday on suspicion of burglary and grand theft. The second suspect remains at large.

But the Bay Area Reporter points out this is one of a string of recent burglaries at SoMa LGBTQ bars. Per that outlet, “Targeted businesses included DECANTsf, Oasis, the Stud, Powerhouse, and Mars bar.”

"It angers you, that you could know somebody that has actually done this, versus a complete stranger," SF Eagle manager Randy Maupin told KTVU. "It’s painful, because a lot of businesses are 30, 40 percent down already and now that we’re hitting the slow season, some businesses could be one large break-in from a closure."

To keep that from happening to SF Eagle, the bar has started a GoFundMe. “We are still working out what was stolen, what can be repaired, and what is gone forever,” the GoFundMe says. “In the meantime, we need your help. Right now, we need to cover expenses, pay staff, and keep our doors open for San Francisco's LGBT and Leather communities.”

"With a Sunday Beer Bust fundraiser scheduled for this weekend, we are prioritizing rebuilding so that we can support our queer nonprofits who rely on the SF Eagle Bar to host vital fundraising events," the page adds.

If you have any information on this incident, you’re asked to call the SFPD tip line at 415-575-4444, or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with “SFPD.” Tipsters can remain anonymous.

Related: Thieves Swipe ATM From Clooney’s Pub, Then Crash Into SFPD Car [SFist]

Image: Ed U. via Yelp

After an alleged three-robbery bender, a suspect evading SFPD totaled his car in a crash, lept 40 feet from a 101 overpass, and injured himself severely before being arrested and hospitalized.

Sometime around 2 am the morning of Thursday, November 7, a robbery crew allegedly busted into what SFPD describes as a "liquor store located on the 700 block of 22nd St." The crew was connected to two other robberies reported that evening, in Ingleside and the Mission. SFPD came to that conclusion after a pretty wild failed getaway attempt that involved a car crash and a suspect jumping 40 feet off an overpass, as the department announced Thursday.

The leap from the overpass did not translate into a successful escape, as the suspect suffered “life-threatening injuries caused by the fall,” according to SFPD. The suspect has not been named, but he was taken into custody and hospitalized. For perspective, below we see where the suspect made the ill-advised leap.  

SFPD responded to the 22nd Street corner store robbery, and did not arrive while the suspects were still in the act, but determined that the burglary involved “several vehicles.” One of those vehicles was traveling northbound on 101. SFPD pursued it at first, but it sped away at such high speed they declined to continue. That was probably the right call.

Because the driver managed to crash the car not far up the road from there.

“As the officers neared the collision, they discovered it was the suspect vehicle and observed the suspect jump off the freeway overpass and land approximately 40 feet below onto 15th and Vermont St.,” SFPD said in a release. “The adult male suspect was taken into custody and was transported to the hospital for life-threatening injuries caused by the fall.”

Officers found the suspected stolen merchandise, as well as a loaded firearm. All of the vehicles used in the robbery were determined to have been stolen, and all have been recovered. Though obviously, one of them is worse for the wear.

It's unknown how many suspects overall were part of the robberies, as only one has been apprehended, and the others are still at large.

If you have any information on this incident, you’re asked to call the SFPD tip line at 415-575-4444, or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with “SFPD.” Tipsters can remain anonymous.

Related: One of Two Alleged Smoke Shop Burglars Charged With Murder In Wrong-Way Crash Near Bay Bridge [SFist]

Image via SFPD

Nearly one year to the day after thieves rammed a car into the Union Square Dior storefront, another car pulled the same scheme just before 3 am Friday morning, and the suspects are still at large.

On October 12, 2023, two suspects drove a car through the Union Square Dior at Post Street and Grant Avenue, and made off with $270,000 worth of merchandise. And then this morning on October 11, 2024, KTVU reports that another car rammed into that same Dior, and three vehicles full of suspects were able to evade police and steal an undisclosed amount of merchandise.

In this case, the burglars did not ram their car into the front of the store, but instead the rear, while two getaway cars were waiting out front. The SF Business Times reports that police noticed three speeding cars at around 2:42 am Friday morning, and pursued one of them, but it sped off so quickly that police felt a chase would be too dangerous. The number of suspects is unknown, and it’s unclear whether they were armed.

“This kind of brazen crime will not be tolerated in our city,” SFPD Chief Bill Scott said in a statement to the Business Times. “Our investigators have numerous leads they are following thanks to the large amount of evidence we have available, including video surveillance and (Automated License Plate Reader camera) hits.”

Well, some suspects did get caught in last October’s Dior robbery, but only because they crashed their car during the getaway. A total of two suspects were arrested and charged in that incident, though several other accomplices got away.

The Dior store has been closed all day Friday, with repairs currently underway, with employees unable to confirm when the store will reopen.

If you have any information on this incident, you’re asked to call the SFPD Tip Line at (415) 575-4444, or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the message with “SFPD.” Tipsters can remain anonymous.

Related: Union Square Dior Store Rammed With Car In Burglary Heist, at Least Two Arrested [SFist]

Image: Andrew D. via Yelp

A Fremont man was convicted of falsely imprisoning, assaulting, and robbing another man he met on the Grindr app after a planned sexual encounter in a San Francisco motel that was just a ruse for robbery.

The incident happened on September 15, 2022, and 27-year-old Ronald Anthony Silveria made contact with another man on Grindr, who was in San Francisco. The two agreed to meet at a motel in San Francisco, which SFGate reports was the Civic Center Motor Inn on 9th Street. Each man drove there in separate cars.

"After hanging out in the room for a while, Mr. Silveria pulled out a gun and tied the victim, who was naked, to the bed," prosecutors with the San Francisco District Attorney's Office explain in a release. "He then proceeded to go through the victim’s bags and electronics, hitting the victim and demanding passwords for bank apps."

Silveria then got the victim to agree to ride with him to an ATM and take out $400, with Silveria saying that he would let the man go if he complied. The victim got dressed, and Silveria demanded that he wipe down the motel room. Then the two drove to an ATM and the victim withdrew $400.

After this, it seems that Silveria was likely worried the victim would go to police immediately if he dropped the victim off. He refused to give the victim back his car keys, and he drove the victim across the Bay Bridge, dropping him off in Emeryville at 4:30 am without his cellphone, wallet, or keys.

Silveria also stole the victim's iPad.

As SFGate reports, the victim made his way to a nearby restaurant — I'm guessing the 24-hour Denny's — where a good Samaritan agreed to drive the victim back to his home in San Francisco. The victim then called police, and investigators were able to retrieve DNA evidence from the restraints in the motel room connecting back to Silveria.

A jury ultimately convicted Silveria of assaulting and robbing two men, prosecutors say — though details of the other case were not shared.

Silveria was convicted of first-degree robbery, false imprisonment by violence or menace, identity theft, and misdemeanor assault and false imprisonment.

"Mr. Silveria preyed on a man who was in a trusting, compromised, and vulnerable position,” said Assistant District Attorney Edward Mario in a statement. "I thank the victim for his bravery in testifying and re-living traumatic life events. This conviction ensures accountability for Mr. Silveria’s actions and provide a measure of justice for the victim."

DA Brooke Jenkins adds, "The jury’s verdict holds Mr. Silveria accountable for his despicable crimes. My office will always stand with victims of crime and work to ensure there are consequences for criminal behavior."

Silveria will face sentencing on May 22. He faces up to 12 years in state prison.

A similarly criminal Grindr encounter happened in the East Bay in January. A 20-year-old San Francisco man was arrested for trying to carjack his Grindr date (after they had sex), pulling a semi-automatic weapon on him, and shooting him.

The victim fought back, ended up getting shot in the leg, and then drove himself to a hospital in San Leandro.

Photo via Google Street View

As robberies of postal carriers skyrocket in the Bay Area and nationwide, the Postal Service is up in arms over one suspect who committed an armed robbery of a mail carrier and only got a 30-day sentence.

This week brings the news of yet another robbery of a postal carrier in Oakland that occurred March 2 on the 400 block of Euclid Avenue. The US Postal Service is offering a $150,000 reward for information on this suspect, after we saw robberies last year of postal carriers in SF’s Western Addition, Visitacion Valley, and Nob Hill.

This is not just a Bay Area issue. KTVU reports on a Freedom of Information Act request by the Associated Press that found a 30% increase in mail carrier robberies last year nationwide, and the number of these robberies where the postal carrier was injured doubled during that period. Indeed, some of these robberies are violent, and the robber is armed.  

One such case is generating a new round of outrage, as a postal robbery suspect pleaded guilty to the crime and to holding “a gun to a postal carrier's head,” but was sentenced to only 30 days by a San Francisco federal judge, according to the AP. Sure, it’s 30 days in a federal prison. But that stunningly light sentence has drawn the ire of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy (and yes, he is still Postmaster General).

"It is simply unacceptable that a criminal was sentenced to a mere 30 days for threatening a letter carrier at gunpoint and stealing his personal possessions, as well as both the public's mail and packages," DeJoy said in a statement. "This sends a concerning message of encouragement to our nation’s criminals and a message of disregard to our loyal public servants, who deserve better protection and reassurance that the law will take crimes against them seriously."

I never thought I’d say this, but Louis DeJoy has a point. Violently attacking a federal employee, and with a loaded gun at that, should get the book thrown at you. That’s just how America is, and rightfully so. Moreover, these robberies are generally made with the intent of stealing the postal keys, which is clear intent to commit further thefts. (Those keys can be used to access other postal boxes, and even residences).

That key system is frankly quite antiquated, and modernizing that system is something that’s long overdue. And the AP adds in that report that there’s a bill before Congress to digitize those keys, so they can be immediately disabled once stolen, and therefore have no value to criminals after they've been pilfered.

Related: San Francisco Man Indicted on Felony Charges for Firing Gun at U.S. Postal Worker [SFist]

Image: Trinity Nguyen via Unsplash

A well-established taco truck called La Parilla Loca does business six days a week in the East Oakland area, and was the latest food establishment to suffer an armed robbery this week.

KTVU reports that the acclaimed Tijuana-style Oakland taco stand and truck La Parilla Loca was robbed at gunpoint at about 11:45 pm Wednesday night at the spot where it normally sets up and does business, the corner of San Leandro Street and 98th Avenue. According to the Oakland Police Department, five armed suspects in ski masks approached the truck and demanded money. And per KTVU, the suspects then “fled the area with the business' entire earnings for the day” as well as “some of the workers’ belongings.”

La Parilla Loca is more than  just a simple taco truck, though one does place their order at a truck. The food is prepared in a fairly large kitchen operation under tents, and it also has a tented dining area. And yes, La Parilla Loca does draw long lines. While a seemingly low-budget operation. SFGate raves it has “tacos that rival Los Angeles' best,” and the Chronicle wrote that La Parilla Loca was part of “Bay Area’s golden age of tacos.”

The taco stand’s owner Mariana Aguirre told KTVU her main concern was for the workers, who were back on the job the next day. "Right now, I know that it’s hard for them to work right now, because I know that they’re thinking, you know, what if later at night they come again," she said.

Notably, La Parilla Loca does business in that same Oakland Airport/Oakland Coliseum area in East Oakland that recently saw the closure of Oakland’s only In-n-Out Burger over crime concerns, as well as the closure of a nearby Denny’s for the same reason.

The Denny's location had operated there for 54 years.

The La Parilla Loca stand had primarily been a cash- and Venmo-only business. Given the recent robbery, Aguirre told KTVU that the business would be transitioning to all-cashless transactions.

Related: Someone Robbed The El Tonayense Taco Truck At Gunpoint This Week [SFist]

Image: Monica B. via Yelp

There’s a flurry of new proposed California legislative bills that would chip away at Prop 47,  including one intended to lock up people identified as “professional retail thieves.”

It’s now been nearly ten years since California voters approved the sentencing measure Prop 47, which generally recategorized theft charges for less than $950 of merchandise as a misdemeanor instead of a crime. And whether fairly or not, Prop 47 was being blamed for increasing crime almost immediately after it passed. Now ten years later, we do see that retail theft and robbery are still up across the state of California, according to the data below for the California Public Policy Institute.

Now even Democratic state lawmakers are rushing to either take Prop 47 back to the voters for another look, or tinker with it in the legislature. And the Southern California News Group reports on one of those new legislative measures, brought by three statehouse Democrats, which would zero in “professional retail thieves,” in the bill’s words, and make it easier to charge them with “intent to sell” the stolen goods.

“Organized retail theft is having a chilling effect on our communities,” one of the bill’s co-authors, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D-Salinas) told the News Group. “Crime, like everything, evolves. And criminal enterprises are using new and different ways to get around current prohibitions … It is our responsibility to ensure that our laws are addressing the situation at hand.”

The bill is called the California Retail Theft Reduction Act, and its main goal is to add up the value of thefts from different retailers and aggregate them all into a grand theft charge.

It would also allow police to make arrests based on witness’ sworn testimony or on smartphone video recordings of a theft. And in keeping with Prop 47’s desire to lower the prison population, it does offer alternative programs to jail.

This is one of many current state bills that hope to crack down on retail theft and undo some elements of Prop 47. Another Democratic bill called AB 1772 would require jail time for anyone convicted of a third theft, though that bill would have to go before California voters if passed. Meanwhile, Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine) has a proposed bill called AB-2438 that would increase charges if the suspect acted in tandem with at least two other people to commit the crime.

The last statehouse push to chip away at Prop 47 was a 2022 measure that would have lowered the felony threshold from $950 to $400. That bill failed, though the political winds may have shifted since then.

Related: State Lawmakers Once Again Going After Prop 47 Amidst Retail Theft Blowback [SFist]

Image: Andrew D. via Yelp

The wheels of justice have moved stunningly slowly in the case of a man found dead in a Vallejo hotel room in 2018, but the pair accused of killing and robbing him finally has a trial date set that will begin more than six years after the killing itself.

We understand that COVID-19 slowed down some criminal trials and court proceedings, but this seems ridiculous. An alleged murder-robbery in Vallejo is back in the news, in a case where two suspects, Devonte Hicks and Jessica McCraven are accused of killing a man who was found dead in a hotel room. But what’s unusual here is that all of this happened way back in August 2018, as Solano County’s Daily Republic reported it then, and the case has very oddly still not gone to trial.  

An originally scheduled 2021 trial date didn't happen. They rescheduled for 2022, and those proceedings were again delayed. In August of 2023, the judge then set an October 2023 trial date, but you can guess what happened with that.  

Yet now the Bay Area News Group reports that a September 2024 trail date has been set, with a few pretrial motions also currently scheduled for April and August of this year.    

The scheduled September 4, 2024 trial date would be a full six years after the August 20, 2018 killing.

Defendant Devonte Hicks is now 28 years old, is charged with first-degree murder, robbery during the commission of a murder, being a felon in possession of a firearm, possessing prohibited ammunition, presenting a false ID to the police, and a slew of felony probation violations. The alleged accomplice Jessica McCraven, now 36 years old, also faces the murder and robbery charges, plus identity theft, possession of meth and drug paraphernalia, driving with an invalid license, check forgery, burglary, and failure to appear in court.

Yes, both Hicks and McCraven have remained in custody without bail for this entire five-plus year saga. And they may not even get credit for time served, as if they’re found guilty on the murder and robbery charges with enhancements, both could face life in prison without parole.

And in another bizarre footnote to this case, we still don’t know the identity of the victim. Per the Bay Area News Group, the Solano County Coroner “has reported the victim’s identity was ‘protected’ and could not be released.”

Related: Vallejo Squatters Whom Neighbors Referred to as 'The Cult' Implicated In Crazy Sword Incident and Shooting [SFist]

Image: Solano.Courts.CA.gov

“Not all heroes wear capes. Some wear bike helmets,” declared Potrero Hill live music venue Bottom of the Hill, after a good samaritan on a bike somehow prevented hammer-wielding thieves from stealing the gear from a band’s touring van.

It is an all-too-common Bay Area occurrence that performers get gear stolen from their vans, or even the whole van full of gear gets stolen. And it appears one of those things was about to happen to a Minneapolis-based band called Yam Haus, this past Saturday, hours before they were set to play a show at Bottom of the Hill.

Two ski-masked suspects wielding hammers approached the van, and were seen peering into the windows. But SFGate reports that an anonymous bicyclist somehow scared off the thieves, and now the venue is offering a reward of tickets and more to whomever this mystery bicycle hero may have been.

Bottom of the Hill tells the tale in a Monday Facebook post, structured like an old-time Craigslist “Missed Connections” ad:

Missed Connections:

Us: SF rock venue with touring band van parked out front on Saturday, November 4, still daylight hours (fortunately the van was already emptied of gear)

Bad guys: saw Sprinter van full of instruments at a stop on the band's drive to our gig from another, and attached an air tracker to their van, which the band was alerted to by their phones. They were basically followed to our venue by thieves!

You: Riding by on your bicycle and had the courage to approach a trio of guys in ski masks with hammers intending to do harm to that van. You ran them off!

Us again: grateful for someone who cared enough to stop and help! Can we buy you a ticket to a show? We saw the security footage but couldn't make you out at all!

Not all heroes wear capes. Some wear bike helmets which I guess could protect them from hammers?!

Thank you to our unknown helper.

Bottom of the Hill adds in a subsequent Tuesday comment: “Update! Sharky from Bandago says that’s one of his vans, actually! So he’ll sweeten the reward pot!!” (“Sharky” refers to SF Homeless Oversight Commission member and Creeper Lagoon frontman Sharky Laguana, Bandago refers to his van rental service.)

Per SFGate, there’s a little more to this story.  Members of Yam Haus reported getting AirTag alerts throughout Saturday, which they blew off. Their band’s photographer saw “a gold-colored car” from which the suspects approached the van carrying hammers. But the bike rider came along, and the photographer “heard an impact” and a yelp from one of the masked men. The suspects retreated back to their vehicle, and the bike rider simply kept pedaling along.

This could have ended worse for the band Yam Haus, in fact, it has before. As SFGate adds, “The last time Yam Haus performed in the Bay Area, somebody stole their belongings from their van.”

Related: U-Haul Truck Full of Shadow Puppets Found Abandoned In Richmond, Puppeteer Very Grateful [SFist]

Image: Kevin K. via Yelp

A brazen Monday morning robbery at Clooney’s Pub at Valencia and 25th streets ripped off their ATM and some liquor from the establishment, then the suspects crashed into an SFPD patrol car. They’re still at large, but the SFPD has a vehicle description.

It was a crushing start to the week Monday at the Mission District’s Clooney’s Pub, as Mission Local reports that thieves broke into the pub and stole the ATM, as well as liquor and other items, sometime around 2:45 a.m. Monday morning. Mission Local adds that three suspects then crashed into a responding SFPD patrol vehicle as they sped away.

While the three suspects remain at large, the Examiner has a description of their getaway vehicle: a white Dodge Durango, dark-colored roof, and missing a fender that broke off during the SFPD patrol car collision.

“Boy, they hit us pretty hard,” Clooney’s Pub owner Dan Lyons told Mission Local. “They came in through the front door, broke the front door. They got the ATM machine. They broke into the office. They broke into the liquor room.”

A Clooney’s Pub rep also tells the Examiner that the thieves rendered the place “a mess” and with “major losses.”

According to Mission Local, a tenant of the building heard the sounds of the break-in at 2:45 a.m. Monday morning, and reported it to police. When SFPD arrived arrived at roughly 3:17 a.m., one suspect was in the vehicle, and two other suspects were exiting the bar.

“The suspect then collided into the officers’ patrol vehicle and fled from the scene at a high rate of speed,” SFPD public information officer Kwanjai Laokwansathitaya told the Examiner. “There were no reports of injuries at the time.”

There is no description of the suspects, and no arrests have been made.  

Lyons told Mission Local there’s been a string of similar robberies in the neighborhood, hitting small businesses like Martha & Brothers Coffee Company, The Peaks, and Happy Donuts. Two arrests have been made in the Happy Donuts robbery.

If you have any information on this incident, you’re asked to call the SFPD tip line at 415-575-4444, or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with “SFPD.” Tipsters can remain anonymous.

Related: SFPD Arrests Two For String of Recent Armed Robberies In the Mission District [SFist]

Image: Kevin Y. via Yelp