Loyal reader Tom C. was walking down the street when he noticed this peculiar sight:
I caught this guy breaking into and stealing from a Nissan parked at Harrison and 23rd, I took the pic and called 911. Which kinda pissed him off. He told me to give him my phone, which I declined to do and after some strong words, some scuffling and punch to the back of my head he made off with his lady friend down treat towards 24th.
Geez Tom, we hope you’re alright! Stay alert out there, everyone!
UPDATE!!! Tom delves into detail:
Here’s what happened, this thief and his girlfriend were walking along Harrison @ 22nd. I was walking my dog behind them, he threw something up in the air and let it crash on the ground… and kept walking. I had a look at what he had “dropped” and it was a GPS unit. I keep walking along with my dog, stalling at every tree, bush, sign post whatever so I could see what they were up to. He was walking real close to the parked cars, scoping them out I guess. Then, they stopped and started being all making out with each other. I walked past and turned the corner at 23rd.
I stopped for a second then headed back to see what they were doing. The guy had disappeared and she was sitting on the sidewalk applying makeup. I kept walking and saw the Nissan with the window smashed out and the guy inside going through the glovebox. I asked him what he was doing, “terracing” he said. I then asked him what that meant and he said “I don’t know, why you got a problem?” I snapped a quick pic of him climbing out, why he didn’t just open the door I don’t know, but he left with his girlfriend down 23rd.
I called 911 and also walked down 23rd. That’s when the guy went crazy. He saw me on the phone and charged up to me demanding the phone, saying he wanted to know who I was calling, he told me he was going to kill me if I didn’t give him the phone. I told him it wasn’t going happen and put it in my pocket, the SFPD was still on the line. So, I’m holding the guy at arms length and keeping my dog back with the other hand. He swings at me and lands one on the back of my head. “I know people, I’m gonna kill you, you’re fucking with the wrong guy” etc. They turned down Treat towards 24th and vanished. The Police showed up and took a report. The owner of the Nissan showed up and thanked me for what I did.
I’ve seen this thief on my street 3 or 4 times, he lives in the neighborhood. I showed the owner of my corner market the photo and he said that his name is Robert and his girlfriend is Claudia. Hopefully this guy will get caught eventually.
Would I get involved again? Definitely. I’d just be a bit more stealthy about it.
Mission Mission 
Crazy. Tom is a bit too brave, I think. Also, why didn’t this guy just open the darn door?
Not sure how he got in the vehicle in the first place, but opening the door would likely set off the alarm.
Tom: you are awesome. We all need to stop being such wussies and always expecting “somebody else” to do something about crime or people behaving badly and start acting ourselves. Doing this would make being a criminal a LOT less lucrative.
Good Job Tom. Fuck that guy. I hope they caught him. 911 is super helpful in this town.
Pretty impressive stuff! I love when people get exposed for doing bad things.
There have been a *ton* of car breakins on Precita Avenue, just a few blocks from where this happened.
Does anyone know if SFPD has seen this page? Someone there may recognize this perp.
Dang, he did all that just for a pair of sunglasses!?
My car at 25th and Valencia was just broken into and whoever did it was so inept and breaking in they caused $1700 in damage. Wouldn’t be surprised if it was our fellow here. Hope he at least got a good work out from it.
Sorry for being long winded—
Here’s what happened, this thief and his girlfriend were walking along Harrison @ 22nd. I was walking my dog behind them, he threw something up in the air and let it crash on the ground… and kept walking. I had a look at what he had “dropped” and it was a GPS unit. I keep walking along with my dog, stalling at every tree, bush, sign post whatever so I could see what they were up to. He was walking real close to the parked cars, scoping them out I guess. Then, they stopped and started being all making out with each other. I walked past and turned the corner at 23rd. I stopped for a second then headed back to see what they were doing. The guy had disappeared and she was sitting on the sidewalk applying makeup. I kept walking and saw the Nissan with the window smashed out and the guy inside going through the glovebox. I asked him what he was doing, “terracing” he said. I then asked him what that meant and he said “I don’t know, why you got a problem?” I snapped a quick pic of him climbing out, why he didn’t just open the door I don’t know, but he left with his girlfriend down 23rd. I called 911 and also walked down 23rd. That’s when the guy went crazy. He saw me on the phone and charged up to me demanding the phone, saying he wanted to know who I was calling, he told me he was going to kill me if I didn’t give him the phone. I told him it wasn’t going happen and put it in my pocket, the SFPD was still on the line. So, I’m holding the guy at arms length and keeping my dog back with the other hand. He swings at me and lands one on the back of my head. “I know people, I’m gonna kill you, you’re fucking with the wrong guy” etc. They turned down Treat towards 24th and vanished. The Police showed up and took a report. The owner of the Nissan showed up and thanked me for what I did.
I’ve seen this thief on my street 3 or 4 times, he lives in the neighborhood. I showed the owner of my corner market the photo and he said that his name is Robert and his girlfriend is Claudia. Hopefully this guy will get caught eventually.
Would I get involved again? Definitely. I’d just be a bit more stealthy about it.
Hard core man. Good on you.
Way to go dude, I caught an a-hole breaking in a car on 17th and South VanNess awhile back and the punk started claiming gang shit. He swung on me and I booted him in the nuts and dropped him. While on the ground I gave him a boot party. By the time the cops arrived he was almost passed out, I told the cops that he tried to attack me so I “restrained” him. They thanked me and to him away.
Once my dad ran into the guy who broke into his work van trying to sell my dad’s items the day of. That must’ve been awkward….
Honestly? You’re an idiot looking to get killed. You could have called the cops from around the corner and he wouldn’t have dashed away and would have been picked up.
The thief was pushing his brazen limit then. Doubt he would have pushed it further by trying to kill him.
What?? he is an idiot? I really hope YOU do not live in my neighborhood!
I did not like him that much, but now knowing that he cares for my community does the whole thing.
You please go back to the east coast
Meth.
Awesome!!
For the rest of us, Try going to see-click-fix (http://seeclickfix.com/mission_san-francisco)and add your personal break in. SFPD reads it. I have noticed more “beat” cops lately on Valencia and Mission. Would love them all over.
Tom, you are todays Hero!
god damn i love this town
Good for you! I can’t stand thieves, more people should be a little more brave and stand up to these assholes.
The cops take too long to respond to stuff like this.
Next time shit goes down, order Chinese food and tell them to bring a gun.
They did alright, they showed up in about 5 minutes.
T.C., you’re a hero. Thanks for doing the right thing (but staying safe while doing so) and standing up against assholes like this scumbag. Hope he got caught.
shoulda sicked your dog on him
We caught a woman who had broken in to a car on treat between 23rd and 24th, and told her to stay put until the police arrived. Police arrested her, and she had stolen enough property to be charged with felony. At the hearing, the DA asked the judge to lower the charges to a misdemeanor, and which she did, even though the defendant had a record. So this thief was back on the street in no time, likely victimizing the neighborhood once again.
I caught a bike thief once and wish I had my camera on me. The police will do nothing. The least we can do is catch these goons in the act and stay vigilant. Also I might recommend using a can of “Dye-Witness” A non-mace spray that dyes the skin green for up to 8 days with the same thing that banks use. Good work.
“Dye Witness” is a pretty terrible name. When said out loud it basically just sounds like a threat.
Good for you, man, glad to hear about people doing the right thing in situations like this.
Bad ass! Bravery might have gotten you stabbed, but I’m glad you took this piece of crap to school. I bet he’s gonna think twice next time.
Today I saw the guy’s girlfriend across the street from my house. She was with three other people, just hanging out. A PT Cruiser showed up and one of them hopped in and drove off, the others followed on foot. The thief in the pic never showed but I snapped some pics of the group, from a distance. It’s only a matter of time before I run into the guy again. Can’t wait. By the way, my dog only weighs 9 pounds.
thanks, tom! i live at potrero and 22nd, and i’m really, really sick of the shady stuff that goes down, and no one seems willing to do anything about it. my boyfriend had to chase a thief out of our own building recently (he was trying to steal our neighbor’s bike). i’ll be sure to keep my eyes out for robert and his little friends.
TC — would love to see the pics of the group at a distance to see whom to look out for. Thank you!
The pics were taken with my iPhone from across the street, they’re not the best quality but I’ll submit them to Mission Mission and they can post them if they like.
This SOS lives in the neighborhood? Quel surprise, what a bunch of lazy flabby fucks.
TC you’re my hero.
Good job Tom. We all have to do our part.
Pix of a crime in progress by someone who lives right in the neighborhood and nobody gets arrested. Welcome to San Francisco!
Hey, maybe the guy was just collecting scrap metal, and didn’t like having his picture taken.
According to the people who comment here, it happens.
T.C. I will get you back! Thanks for your involvement in our mission community!
So yesterday I’m doing some work in front of my house when I see the guy that I took the picture of. He’s about 10 feet from me. I casually go inside my garage and call 911. I tell the dispatcher that the man that assaulted me is sitting on my neighbors steps, gave her a full description of what he looks like, gave her my address. She asks me some questions; do you know his name? Does he know where you live? etc. She then tells me to call back if the situation changes.
I wait and wait and the police never show up.
I was optimistic that this guy would have got what he deserved, I had a picture of him, I had seen his girlfriend several times in the past week and knew it was only a matter of time before he surfaced and I could call the Police to get him picked up.
Our tax dollars well spent.
That is pretty fucked up. You should call your Supervisor and clue them into this situation. When Chris Daly was my supe I got a lot of help from him on stuff like this.
Agree; I mean what else could you possibly do at this point besides have a helmet-cam view of him assaulting you while simultaneously taking DNA samples in your portable lab to hand over to the police?
@T.C. are you f’ing kidding me. That is unreal. I guess this is when mob justice used to kick in back in the old days.
Agreed, I now carry a box cutter, a screwdriver, a can of mace, a taser and some blast knuckles (google it). I feel a lot safer now.
At least I did until I saw this-
http://missionlocal.org/category/trouble/
Just wanted to say thanks, glad you did what you did. I recently had my car stolen from 25th and bryant and wish someone did this for me!