Robbery Attempt By Fake Pest Control Worker Foiled In San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A man disguised as a pest control worker was apparently in the process of robbing a business he had been let into in San Francisco when a security guard chased him away.

San Francisco Police on Wednesday released security camera video of the incident from December 12 at the SF Jazz Center at 201 Franklin St.

In the video, a man who is fully covered in a white hazmat suit, including a surgical-type mask and gloves, shows a card that says "ORTHO" and gains entry after signing in at a security desk at 6:20 in the morning.

Ortho is the brand name of a line of chemical pesticides and herbicides.

Police said a security guard was later told by a supervisor that no one was authorized to be in the building.

The guard then found the suspect on the third floor of the building holding one of the facility's laptop computers and in the process of disconnecting a second laptop, police said.

The security guard forced the man to let go of the laptops, according to police, and on the video the guard is seen chasing the man out of the building.

Police asked anyone with information on the case to contact the department's anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444, or text-a-tip to TIP411 with SFPD at the beginning of the message.

Carlos E. Castañeda is Senior Editor, News & Social Media for CBS San Francisco and a San Francisco native. You can follow him on Twitter or send him an email.