A man attempted to rob a pedestrian Saturday night in the north end of the city. Minutes later, a second attempted robbery occurred close by. Police are still investigating whether the two are related. The suspect(s) is still at large.
On Saturday, July 7, 2018 at about 11:40 p.m., our 24-hour dispatch center received a call of an attempted street robbery in the 600 block of Newell Road. The victim, who is in his 50s, was able to get away. When an officer arrived to his home, the victim reported he had been walking near Newell Road and Dana Avenue when a man who had his face covered with a black cloth told him to give up his wallet. According to the victim, the suspect put his hand in his pocket and pulled out an unknown black object. The victim reported he did not think it was a gun. The victim refused to give up his wallet and walked away. The suspect then left.
Shortly after at about 11:52 p.m., another attempted street robbery occurred a mile away. The victim in that case, who is also in his 50s, reports he was walking near Cowper Street and Addison Avenue when a man wearing a dark cloth over his face came up from behind him and demanded property. The victim reported the suspect acted as if he had a weapon because he had his hand in the waistband of his pants. The victim ran away and saw the suspect get into a black SUV which traveled southbound on Cowper towards Embarcadero Road.
Both victims were uninjured and did not have property taken from them. The suspect in both cases is described by the victims as a Hispanic male in his 20s, about 5 feet 10 inches tall with a medium build. We do not anticipate releasing a sketch of the suspect.
Detectives are still investigating whether the attempted robberies were committed by the same person or different suspects. We have not received any recent reports of similar attempted street robberies.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call our 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to [email protected] or sent via text message or voicemail to 650-383-8984. Tips can also be submitted anonymously through our free mobile app, downloadable at www.bit.ly/PAPD-AppStore or www.bit.ly/PAPD-GooglePlay.
