San Francisco Police Announce Arrests in Recent Strong-Arm Robbery on Howard Street
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Police in San Francisco on Wednesday confirmed the recent arrests of three suspects in connection with a strong-arm robbery on Howard Street last week.
According to a press release issued by the SFPD, early on the evening of March 10 at around 6:40 p.m., officers from the Southern Police Station responded to the 300 block of Howard Street after a report of a robbery.
Arriving officers met the victim who said she was grabbed and thrown to the ground by an unknown male suspect who proceeded to rip her purse out of her hands. The victim sustained minor injuries as a result of the robbery.
While at the scene, police obtained a photo of the suspect vehicle that showed the vehicle's license plate from a community member. Police broadcast the license plate and vehicle description to the rest of the department and an active search for the suspect vehicle began.
Less than an hour later, officers with the Tenderloin Station patrolling on Leavenworth Street observed a vehicle that matched the suspect vehicle description. Further investigation determined the vehicle was also bearing the same license plate as the suspect vehicle from the robbery.
Officers followed the suspect vehicle until backup arrived, and then conducted a traffic stop on Golden Gate Avenue. Four suspects were taken into custody without incident.
A subsequent search of the vehicle uncovered stolen property from the victim of the robbery on Howard Street, which was returned to the victim. With the
SFPD Robbery Detail leading the investigation, authorities were able to identify the suspects as 18-year-old Walnut Creek resident Sylvester York, 18-year-old Oakley resident Airius Crochett, and a 16-year-old male juvenile of Rodeo.
York and Crochett were booked at San Francisco County Jail on charges of robbery, conspiracy, and possession of stolen property. Crochett was additionally booked for possession of burglary tools. The juvenile suspect was booked Juvenile Justice Center on charges of robbery, conspiracy, possession of stolen property, and for being an individual under 18-years-old possessing more than 28.5 grams of marijuana .
Police said the fourth individual detained, an 18-year-old male, was released at the scene. While arrests have been made in the case, it remains an open investigation. Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call the SFPD Tip Line at 1-415-575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
