Days after we all watched as the San Francisco Police Department chased a man who'd stolen one of their SUVs we're finally learning a bit more about the suspect, including the many, many charges he faces.
It's likely that you saw the news as it broke Saturday morning: A fairly typical police call reporting a man with a knife at 8:15 a.m. took a crazy turn, when the suspect evaded police, drove off in their SUV, and led them on a chase through city streets and across the Bay Bridge into Treasure Island, SFPD says.
While on TI, police shot at the suspect when he took off down a pedestrian path. He was uninjured, and headed back on to the westbound Bay Bridge, where he wrecked the SUV, jumped from the upper deck to the lower deck of the bridge (between 30-40 feet) and tried to carjack yet another vehicle, according to police. The only thing that stopped him, police say, is when an officer made the same jump between decks and arrested the man.
If you're like me, you've been eager to get a look at a man who got so much done on a Saturday morning — after all, if I manage to make it to the Ferry Building Farmer's Market around then, I consider it a triumph for the ages. So who is this alleged supervillian?
According to SFPD, the man responsible for all this craziness is one Randal Lee Maykopet, a 26 year-old white guy (sorry to disappoint, certain commenters!). Maykopet, who has no known address, was booked into San Francisco County Jail Saturday. Here are the charges he presently faces:
- Carjacking
- Attempted carjacking
- Felony evasion
- Vandalism
- Resisting arrest
- Assault with a deadly weapon
- Hit-and-run
- Felony driving under the influence of drugs and causing injury
- Felony hit-and-run,
- Driving without a license
- Reckless felony hit-and-run causing injury
After the pursuit and arrest, two police officers, Maykopet, and one driver who was injured during the chase were treated at area hospitals for injuries that are not considered life-threatening.
No other injuries were reported, according to an SFPD spokesperson, a matter even San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee finds appears to find remarkable. Speaking to ABC7, the mayor expressed his relief that things weren't worse, saying "Although, all the things that he did, including crashing into, was it seven different vehicles at the time, would have taken out any individual if they were in the wrong place at the wrong time."
Previously: Chase Ends In Police Shooting On Treasure Island After Suspect Steals SFPD Car