car theft - SFist - San Francisco News, Restaurants, Events, & Sports

Prosecutor Outrage Ensues as Serial Car Burglar Gets Probation After Long String of Car Break-Ins In SF

27-year-old Robert Sonza was in court Thursday for a series of car thefts and gun charges dating back to 2019, having been given probation and then reoffending each time. Yet an SF Superior Court judge gave him probation yet again, despite more than a dozen arrests.

CHP Touts 1,100 Arrests, 2,000 Stolen Cars Recovered In Oakland This Year

The governor's office and California Highway Patrol have provided another quarterly update on the CHP's efforts to aid Oakland police on the car-theft and sideshow front.

[Update] Police Find Missing Woman Who Was Victim of Suspected Kidnapping in San Jose

A woman who was inside a vehicle stolen by a group of people in downtown San Jose early Saturday morning is missing, and police are asking for the public's help to recover the suspected kidnapping victim.

Man Speaks Out After Car Stolen With Daughter Still Inside In Friday Night Ingleside Theft

It’s bad enough to have your car stolen, but one man had the terrifying experience of his car being stolen with his daughter still inside Friday night in Ingleside, and he’s now talking to the press.

Car Theft Suspects Caught In Oakland After Leading Police on 40-Mile Chase, Throwing Tools at Cop Cars

A 2:30 a.m. Friday morning car chase started when two auto theft suspects were allegedly casing cars in Napa County, and police chased them all the way to Oakland, despite that the suspects were hurling construction tools at the police vehicles along the way.

SFMTA Ticketing Stolen Cars, Not Checking Whether They’re Stolen

Nearly 100 obviously stolen cars are just sitting in plain sight collecting tickets in San Francisco right now, and could be recovered today, but the SFMTA and police department are simply not sharing information with each other.

Two Oakland Men Arrested On 38 (Yes, 38) Counts of Auto Burglary

Two men alleged to be affiliated with gangs are in custody and stand accused of an astonishing 38 counts of auto burglary, and they’re both now in custody at the Santa Clara County Jail.

Marina Household Sees Garage Robbed Three Times In One Night, Car Stolen on Thieves' Third Visit

Security video indicates it may have been the same group of thieves who hit a Marina District garage three times in one night last week, and on the third trip, they made off with a car.

Home Invasion and Car Theft Suspect Killed on San Mateo Bridge After Running Out of Gas

A suspect was struck and killed by an oncoming car after exiting a vehicle he allegedly stole on the San Mateo Bridge early Wednesday, after apparently running out of gas.

Same East Bay Suspect Allegedly Steals Two BMWs From Different Dealerships In a Week, Crashes One of Them

An alleged identity fraud scammer managed to get two different East Bay dealerships to sell him BMWs with fake ID, but promptly crashed one of the two.

Man Run Over and Killed While Attempting to Steal Catalytic Converter in Sacramento

An attempted theft of a catalytic converter went badly Monday morning in Sacramento, as the would-be thief was run over and killed by the very vehicle he was attempting to sever the part from.

License Plate Theft Victim Uncovers Elaborate Criminal Scheme After Getting Hit With Massive Parking Tickets

After getting her license plates stolen, a local woman started getting mystery parking tickets, and then she unraveled a complex ring of stolen license plates being slapped on stolen cars.

Catalytic Converter Theft Ring Busted, And — Surprise! — Auto Repair Shops Allegedly In On the Game

San Jose police arrested 15 suspects for stealing and selling catalytic converters, but more interestingly, they say three auto shops were “knowingly purchasing stolen catalytic converters from street criminals.”

Purse Snatching at Cow Hollow Parklet Leads Directly to Victim's Car Being Stolen

A woman sitting in a parklet outside Balboa Cafe with two friends last week had her purse snatched by a thief in a vehicle that pulled up beside the parklet — and the crime didn't end there.

Police Chase Alleged Eggers Until Crash At Cable Car Turnaround

A gang of alleged eggers' reign of terror ended late Wednesday night, when they crashed after police chased them down San Francisco's crowded and busy Powell Street. It was 11:50 Wednesday evening

Video: Thieves Caught Stealing Luxury Cars From SoMa Dealership

Four people were caught on surveillance footage stealing multiple luxury cars from a car dealership service center in SoMa early Wednesday morning. According to CBS 5, the burglary was reported around 12:40

SF's Allegedly Prolific Serial Zipcar Thief Takes Plea Deal

The colorful saga of the so-called Serial Zipcar Thief has come to an end — and not with a bang, but with a whimper (and a plea bargain). It was just this April that

SFPD Says Suicidal Suspect Was Saved By A Cat

Never underestimate the power of a owner's love for their pet #kitten! Great job #SFPD negotiations; scene clearing pic.twitter.com/tSayPeecue— Ofc. Grace Gatpandan (@OfficerGrace) October 8, 2015 A tense standoff between

As SF's Crime Wave Continues, Police Chief Touts City's Relative Safety

We've talked before about how crime is spiking in San Francisco: some blame the income divide, others blame the passage of Prop 47, and still others blame SF's rapid population increase. Today the

Here's The Woman Who Allegedly Crashed A Stolen Car Then Jumped Off The Bay Bridge

CHP looking for Erlynn K. Sanchez-Edwards, 25 from Richmond as suspect in the 8/12 bridge incident. Call 415.557.1094 pic.twitter.com/ybMcIG27eW— CHP San Francisco (@CHPSanFrancisco) August 14, 2015 The

Young Tourists' Car Stolen From Castro Safeway With Dog Inside

Well this is upsetting. While car break-ins and such petty crimes have been exploding citywide, we have a case of a brazen car theft from the Safeway at Church and Duboce in which

Driver Of Stolen Car Hit 100 MPH Before Fatal Bay Bridge Crash

An as-yet unidentified man was killed in a solo crash Saturday morning as he sped across the Bay Bridge in a stolen car. According to California Highway Patrol spokesperson Officer Vu Williams, the

Alleged Zipcar Kleptomaniac Was Caught Stealing Another Zipcar A Day After Her Release

After the equivalent of a parking lot of Zipcars vanished in a six-week stint — the Examiner say it was 81 vehicles, the Chronicle says 76 — things were looking a little suspicious. But then

Car Stolen In SF With Man's Wife's Ashes In Trunk

68-year-old Phil Hollenbeck was passing through San Francisco in his 1997 light blue Honda Civic on the way to the Oregon Coast from his home in Taos, New Mexico. In the trunk: The