16 arrested for string of robberies in SF

SAN FRANCISCO

The earliest of the 11 robberies was reported shortly after 1 a.m. Friday when six suspects beat up a 40-year-old man in the 1700 block of Haight Street and stole his wallet when he refused a request by one of the suspects for a cigarette, police said Monday.

Police searched the area and arrested Dontae Finney, 31, but the other five suspects are still outstanding.

Another incident was reported at about 2:25 a.m. in the 600 block of Ashbury Street, police said. A 34-year-old man was walking his bicycle when two suspects approached him and tried to take his bicycle while striking him with a bottle in the area of his left eye.

Police located the suspects a short time later near Haight and Ashbury streets. Kinga Tenzin, 22, of Oakland, and Chhiring Lama, 21, of San Francisco, were taken into custody and face charges of attempted robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.

Three juveniles were also arrested after allegedly attempting to rob a man of his iPod in the 4700 block of Mission Street at about 12:30 p.m. Friday.

A 32-year-old man was arrested Friday night after refusing to pay for a meal in the 2300 block of Market Street, police said. Jimmy Owens allegedly struck the manager of the restaurant at about 8 p.m., who confronted Owens outside the restaurant.

Owens faces charges of robbery because defrauding an innkeeper using force constitutes a robbery, police said.

A 50-year-old San Francisco man was arrested at shortly before 9 p.m. Friday after allegedly robbing a man of cash and a cell phone. Andrew Blueford was located by police near the intersection of Webster and Fell streets, and was taken into custody on a robbery charge.

At about 10:30 p.m. Friday, near the intersection of Olive Street and Van Ness Avenue, four suspects confronted a man and robbed him of his wallet. A 14-year-old was arrested in that case and two others were detained.

A robbery also occurred on a San Francisco Municipal Railway bus on Friday, according to police. Two teenage suspects were arrested after allegedly grabbing a cell phone from a man and punching him.

A robbery happened on a Muni bus on Saturday as well, police said. A victim was allegedly confronted by three suspects near the intersection of Mission and 30th streets at about 12:30 a.m.

The victim was robbed of cash, but police spotted the suspects, including David Ramirez, 20, on a Muni bus took them into custody.

Another robbery was reported at about 11 p.m. Saturday when a man was approached by two suspects near the intersection of Mission Street and Geneva Avenue. The suspects took cash from the victim, but shortly afterward, two 20-year-old men were arrested for the robbery.

Police dealt with two robbery incidents on Sunday as well. The first occurred at about 2 a.m. at a restaurant in the 3300 block of Mission Street when a man was robbed as he went into the restaurant's bathroom.

The victim had his cash and cell phone taken, and was also struck on the head with a bottle by the suspects, who then hid in the patio area of the restaurant, according to police.

Arriving officers eventually found Miguel Florentino, 30, and Omar Perez, 29, both of San Francisco. Both suspects were taken into custody and face robbery and assault charges, police said.

The last robbery case of the weekend involved a 48-year-old San Francisco woman, according to police. Julie Krestch allegedly entered a drug store in the 1300 block of Bush Street at about 1 p.m. and began filling her purse with headache remedies, handheld game devices and hair products.

When confronted by a security guard, Krestch allegedly punched him and bit his finger. The guard, along with another employee, were able to detain the suspect until police arrived and booked her on robbery and assault charges.

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