SAN FRANCISCO—On July 16, the San Francisco Police Department announced that an animal cruelty suspect has been arrested.
The SFPD reported on July 2, officers became aware of an animal abuse incident being investigated by San Francisco Animal Care and Control (SFACC). Officers learned that the day prior, a male entered a bank ATM vestibule on the 1800 block of Market Street around 2 a.m. with a small kitten and proceeded to violently torture the animal to death. The suspect fled with the dead animal.
San Francisco Animal Care and Control took the primary lead in the investigation. Since the incident occurred in the City and County of San Francisco, the SFPD assisted with the investigation.
SFACC obtained a warrant for pertinent information about the suspect that led to identifying him as William Ohlson, 33, of Reno, Nevada. Through the course of their investigation, officers with the Drug Market Agency Coordination Center (DMACC) and the Real Time Investigation Center (RTIC) were able to locate the suspect at a hotel on the 100 block of Fell Street in San Francisco.
On July 14, officers served a search warrant at the hotel and were advised by an RTIC Drone as First Responder (DFR) operator that Ohlson fled the room onto the roof of an adjacent room.
Officers requested the help of the San Francisco Fire Department due to the suspect’s location, and members of the SFFD responded with a truck and ladder to assist SFPD in safely apprehending Ohlson on the roof.
The arrest of the suspect was a result of close collaboration between the San Francisco Police Department and the San Francisco Animal Care and Control through the course of the two-week investigation. Ohlson was booked into San Francisco County Jail No. 1 on charges of animal abuse and neglect (597(b)PC) and resisting or delaying arrest (148(a)(1)PC).
The SFPD is still investigating the case. Anyone with details should call the SFPD at 1-415-575-4444 (opens in a new window) or Text-A-Tip to TIP411 (opens in a new window) and begin the message with SFPD.
