Real life imitated reel life in San Francisco this week...One of the overlooked classic scenes in the Coen Brothers 1987 film Raising Arizona comes when the inept criminal brothers Evelle and Gale Snoat walk into the "hayseed bank" with rifles blazing, ready for a robbery. Evelle tells his brother "They're over there on the ground, like you commanded, Gale." The elder brother grows livid and notes "I told you not to use my damn name. Can't you even try to keep from forgettin' that?" Chastened, E
For 20 years, South American thieves have been stealing millions of dollars in gems and jewelry from traveling salespeople in San Francisco. And no one -- not the cops, jewelers, or insurance companies -- has the slightest idea how to stop them.
While, when it comes to homicides, it appears that it's once again open season in the city, it's nice to see that a concerted police effort to stamp out a spree of lesser crimes appears to have borne fruit. (It also gave the cops the opportunity to use the term "dragnet" with a straight face). A string of what the police call "hot prowl" burglaries -- entries into people's homes as they sleep -- had been reported in West Portal, St. Francis Wood and Forest Hill, with the primary target being com
Robert Fulghum earned a living, fame, and everlasting enmity from authors toiling over Russian Novel-length manuscripts after putting in a full day at the regular job when he published his sickly sweet manifesto, Everything I Need to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten. Among the pearls of wisdom Fulghum gleaned: Share everything, play fair, put things back where you found them, and don't take things that aren't yours. A trio of men who, apparently, flunked Kindergarten were arrested very late on Mo
The Taraval Police Station blotter carries yet another story of a thief with prior convictions getting nabbed for (very) petty theft. This week's story is posted below:05/27/09 5:25pm 200 block of West PortalA man walked into Walgreen's on West Portal, stole batteries without paying for them, and fled
The 'River Rock Burglar,' portrayed here by Billy Joel, has hit five San Francisco stores in the past two weeksIn the annals of criminality, there are numerous men and women who have earned dubious distinctions via decisions such as wearing paraphernalia emblazoned with their names or places of business during a robbery, or tripping on oversize, sagging jeans while fleeing from the cops. In San Francisco, however, special mention is reserved for Chinatown's "River Rock Burglar," whom police beli
Nottingham (U.K.) Crime and Drug PartnershipLeaving the premises with your ill-gotten gains is an important step for every successful burglarThere's a world of difference between intricate, Oceans 11-style heists and, say, the Neanderthal-approved methods of, say, the River Rock Burglar. That being said, the concept of being a burglar is relatively simple: You enter other people's property, liberate their possessions, and then leave. On Wednesday, a Noe Valley miscreant seems to have aced
A pair of men police blame for a rash of smash 'n' grab robberies in the Chinatown/North Beach area were arrested early this morning by plainclothes officers. Nicknamed the "River Rock Burglar" because of his continued use of smooth, cobblestone-like rocks to smash store windows, the alleged thieves are accused of at least seven burglaries since early July. Police suspected a man who had been convicted of at least 13 similar "river rock burglaries" during two separate crime sprees over the
What's the worst that could happen?The saying, going back to Homeric times, has been "Beware Greeks bearing gifts" -- which, in all likelihood, has led to many huffy incidents and refused offerings of olive oil, ouzo or kombológia. In short, it means you should think hard about trusting those with a vested interest in your downfall. And a modern incarnation of Ilium's tough lesson took place at City College of San Francisco this week. Police were on Monday called out by an aggrieved man
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