SAN FRANCISCO—The SFPD announced on July 21 that two suspects connected to the armed robbery of elderly victims have been arrested.
The SFPD reported on July 15, at approximately 5:25 p.m. officers responded to the unit block of Melra Court in the Ingleside Police District for a report of an armed robbery.
Investigators discovered that the victims were approached by an unknown suspect who assaulted them, demanded their property, and attempted to remove a necklace from one of the victims. During the robbery, the suspect pointed a firearm at the victims before stealing their property. The suspect fled the scene in a black SUV driven by a second suspect.
SFPD’s Real Time Investigation Center (RTIC) officers and Daly City’s RTIC analysts quickly located surveillance footage showing the suspect vehicle, a black SUV with paper license plates, leaving the area shortly after the robbery. Acting on a tip from a Bayview patrol officer, Realtime Investigations Center investigators also determined the SUV had been stolen during a hot-prowl residential burglary that occurred on July 12.
At approximately 8:30 p.m., Southern Station patrol officers located the suspect vehicle parked near 6th and Minna Streets. RTIC personnel and Drone as a First Responder (DFR) officers started monitoring the vehicle while investigators reviewed surveillance footage from the area. Officers determined two suspects exited the vehicle and entered a hotel on the 100 block of 6th Street.
Citywide Plainclothes officers responded and began surveillance in the area. As the operation continued, RTIC personnel observed the suspects leaving the hotel and walking on 6th Street. Officers coordinated a plan to safely detain both individuals.
During the investigation, officers searched one of the suspects and recovered a loaded semi-automatic firearm, property belonging to one of the robbery victims, and a large sum of cash. The second suspect was found to be in possession of a large sum of cash. A search of the stolen SUV led to the recovery of additional property stolen during the robbery, as well as clothing that matched the suspects’ clothing description during the crime.
Officers developed probable cause to arrest the suspects, who are identified as Lamont Jackson, 54, and Joe Saelee, 32, of Richmond, California.
Jackson and Saelee were booked into San Francisco County Jail on charges including robbery, assault with a firearm, possession of a stolen vehicle, and multiple firearms-related offenses.
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 and begin the message with SFPD.
