SAN FRANCISCO—A car robbery on March 17 has led to the recovery of over 80 stolen items, according to a press release from the San Francisco Police Department.
On March 17 the Taraval Station received a report of a vehicle burglary in the Outer Sunset. The victim had parked her Chevy SUV on Lincoln Way at 44th Avenue around 7:30 p.m. Half an hour later when she returned to her vehicle she saw an unknown suspect had broken the window, entered the vehicle, and stolen two laptop computers and a specialized camera.
After the victim contacted the Taraval Station she saw a listing of her specialized camera on an online marketplace. Investigators were able to track the seller to an Oakland, California location and on April 28 investigators from the Taraval Station Investigation Team, with assistance of the Oakland Police Department, were able to serve a search warrant.
At a residence on the 4200 block of Wilshire Boulevard officers found the specialized camera along with other stolen items. Six people were detained during the search, but investigators only had probable cause to arrest three of them.
Mario Starnes, 51, was charged with two counts of possession of stolen property. Trevor Starnes, 27, was charged with one count of possession of stolen property. Kostas Lirakis, 33, was booked on an outstanding Alameda County warrant for second degree burglary, possession of burglar tools and theft.
Captain Flaherty of the Taraval Station released a “Captain’s Message” on May 3 that included information about local burglaries. Flaherty stated that citywide burglaries have increased 2% and the Taraval District’s burglaries have increased 49% since the last reporting period.
Lieutenant Ed DelCarlo at a meeting at the Taraval Station on April 27 showed that a criminal can break into a car in only five seconds, and that these are incidents of opportunity. Flaherty gave some tips for residents for avoiding being burglarized at home and for their vehicle: always keep the door locked, close and lock windows, check lock mechanisms on gates, security alarms, motion-sensor flood lighting and cameras.
The Taraval Station is working on linking the items to previous burglary crimes and identify owners of the items. The 80+ items have been photographed, cataloged and are able to be viewed at http://www.taraval.org/StolenItems. If you believe your property is among the recovered items have proof of ownership, receipts or police report of a burglary, ready and call the Taraval Station Investigation Team at (415) 759-3100.
