I awoke at 7:20 on Sunday morning to the wail of police sirens and the buzz of a small plane over my bedroom doing what sounded like aerobatics. The plane was a California Highway Patrol Cessna flying in a circular observation pattern over northwest Bernal. I then took a peek down Cesar Chavez, just in time to watch four CHP cars go racing past, followed closely by a few SFPD cruisers.

Meanwhile, Reader Matt got a close up look at the action — an apparent manhunt. He writes:

I live on Coleridge near Virginia. My wife had to go to the airport this morning and a cab was scheduled for 7:20. Well, at 7:20 we heard a honk and looked outside. On top of all the weirdness of the morning (sirens, helicopters) we saw six highway patrol cars pulled up out front and 10-14 patrolmen walking around POINTING automatic weapons – shotguns, rifles, and pistols.

My wife opened the door to look for the cab and a cop asked her if she’d seen a man in a yellow shirt. Then four of them went to investigate the small children’s park across the street. One of them stalked a recycling bin like it was a major threat. Several checked under cars and pointed their guns down the small cracks between houses.

One patrolmen with a pistol aimed his gun inside the slide. Wow.

Whoever they were looking for is a bad bad man.

I took a few pics out the window, but I didn’t want to be seen aiming anything at these guys so they’re not the best pics of all-time.

Everybody left about twenty minutes later and my wife made the flight (I drove her – let’s hear it for Bernalwood SFO access!) – but then the cab company called to a) apologize for not showing up and b) explain that the cab driver was assaulted at Coleridge and Virginia by the suspect. Which is probably the honk we heard.

Yikes. No news about this in the mainstream press. Anyone else know more details?

UPDATE:

Readed Unfed was following along at home and explains:

I heard the sirens too so I switched on my police scanner. It turns out the CHP was chasing a guy on 101, apparently the person was exceeding 100MPH. He pulled off the freeway and raced up Bernal Hill and then took off on foot towards Mission St. On Mission he hailed a cab and took it for a little ways (I forget the destination address) and was eventually apprehended. I’m not sure how the cops figured out where the bad guy was, but they were in touch with the cab driver; he was taking them to a location where the bad guy may have dropped something and was giving them access to the cab’s video.

Interestingly, there were so many Ingleside and Mission cops involved that the dispatcher was warning of backed up calls. At one point she said there were seven calls waiting.

PHOTOS: CHP Airplane, Telstar Logistics. Manhunt, by Reader Matt.

In the wake of the recent double homicide at the Holly Courts housing project, reader Sarah attended the SFPD Ingleside Station Community Meeting that was held on Tuesday evening. She took some (typically) excellent notes, which we’re republishing here with permission:

Much of the discussionwas related to the Saturday shootings and double homicide at Holly Court. The captain said he could not discuss some elements of the investigation, per department policy, but he did give some information that I had not seen in the press coverage of the incident.

There was a birthday party/barbecue during the day on Saturday inside Holly Court. At around 2pm, there was some kind of “skirmish” between different groups. The police were called; officers responded and detained two people. Later in the evening, the two groups encountered each other again, and that’s when three people were shot, two of whom died. There were three separate crime scenes. 17 people were detained, and one was booked. The incident was so large that officers outside the district had to be called in.

Residents had been concerned in advance of the party and that the person throwing the party was not a resident. The Housing Authority (which is federal, not state/local, and is in charge of the housing projects) is inconsistent at best with respect to enforcing evictions. Under the HUD Code, residents are supposed to be evicted immediately if they commit a crime or their family members commit crimes. The Housing Authority seems not to be consistently enforcing the latter element of the code – ie, that residents should be evicted if their family members or other people they’ve invited to their residence commit crimes. That seems to be very relevant in the case of the Holly Court homicides.

There was a question about the widespread possession of guns in the community and what remedies (police, legal, community) could be employed to combat it. This, in turn, led to a more general discussion of how people are charged and sentenced for crimes in the current environment. One point was that gun possession charges (for example, carrying a concealed weapon without a permit) has very different consequences depending upon the context – someone with no criminal record will get a citation, whereas a convicted felon will be charged with another felony. Another point was that because California prisons are extremely overcrowded these days, anyone who commits a non-violent crime (such as theft, even if the person is responsible for many, many car thefts, break-ins, etc) is very unlikely to serve any prison time. A representative from the DA’s office was in attendance and said that the SF DA seeks the maximum penalty for felony gun-possession cases, which is 90 days in county jail.

I asked about the Holly Park shooting that occurred approximately eight weeks ago when a man was shot in his car around 6:20pm. The captain said the victim is being uncooperative, presumably because he knows the person who shot him.

Other crimes in the district were discussed. Car break-ins and thefts continue to be a problem, especially in Glen Park, Noe Valley, Miraloma Park, and Precita Park. Burglaries are down for the year, and the captain cited vigilant neighbors as being especially helpful in catching burglaries in process. He said that if you see something suspicious, call 553-0123. If it’s a crime in progress, even if it’s not a violent crime, call 911. The most stolen cars continue to be Hondas, Toyotas, Acuras, and Nissans more than 10 years old.

Phone snatching continues to be a problem. As I mentioned in the last summary, the captain emphasized that holding your phone is like waving $200 at a thief, since that’s what they can sell it for. You’re also obviously distracted and an easier mark. The police recently held a surveillance operation at the Balboa Park BART station, where lots of thefts were occurring, and that ring appears to have moved over to the Taraval district now (point being, the theft rings adapt).

The fire battalion chief of the Ocean district was in attendance and warned people to clean out their dryer vents (ie, the tube that goes from the dryer to the outside of your house) since lint is extremely flammable. They’ve had several fires caused by this recently. He said to clean it every one or two months, and there is something you can buy to do this at hardware stores.

PHOTO: Telstar Logistics

An arrest has been made in connection with the shooting incident that left two people dead at the Holly Court housing project last weekend. From the San Francisco Chronicle:

A San Francisco man has been arrested for allegedly killing one of two men slain during a brawl at a birthday party in the Bernal Heights neighborhood, police said Monday.

Keo Sobrera, 24, is suspected of fatally shooting Pacific Som, 21, of San Francisco, said Officer Albie Esparza, a police spokesman.

Som and Rathanak Chea, 26, were killed and Chea’s brother Pounloue Chea, 30, was wounded when gunfire broke out at the Holly Courts public housing project on the 100 block of Appleton Avenue at about 7:20 p.m. Saturday, police and family members said.

Neighbors said the shooting came as the result of a fight at a birthday party. Police said they had detained several people at the scene and were still seeking a second assailant who fired the shots that killed Rathanak Chea.

Here’s the SFPD press release about the arrest:
PHOTO: Screen grab from KTVU

Very bad incident on Saturday evening at the Holly Court housing project. From the San Francisco Chronicle:

A brawl that broke out during a birthday party in a public housing project in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood led to the fatal shootings of two men and the wounding of a third, witnesses said Sunday.

The shootings happened about 7:20 p.m. Saturday on the 100 block of Appleton Avenue at the Holly Courts housing project. Police revealed few details, but neighbors said the incident had grown out of a fight.

A man was being beaten up by four men when a friend of the victim fired a gun into the air, presumably to scare the assailants, said a neighbor who declined to give her name because she feared for her safety.

Friends of the assailants then converged on the scene and began firing back, she said.

The SF Appeal reports the incident happened near 192 Appleton. KTVU suggests the shooting may have stemmed from long-simmering tensions between several residents of Holly Courts.

Over on Bernalsafe, neighborhood activist Buck Bagot writes:

Unofficial report. Very large Saturday night party, lots of outsiders. Homicide investigating. Expect greater understanding in a couple of days. Besides seeing the shooters convicted, a question for the Police and Bernal might be- was it an isolated incident, or is that area an ongoing problem? Are any units a base for criminal and violent activities? If so, we could and should work to have the residents of those units – private or public – removed. The BHNC Bernal Public Housing Work Group meets on a regular basis with SFPD and the Housing Authority, and might provide a place to develop and pursue a strategy. It looks like the Captain will appoint a couple of Bernal residents to the Ingleside Community Advisory Board. We could also pursue any strategy there as well.

UPDATE: The victims have been identified as Pacific “Jerry” Som, 21, and Rathanak Chea, 26.

A bad burglar has been disturbing the peace on Arnold Street.  Mike Aldax at the SF Examiner has the story:

Police are hunting a persistent burglar who has twice tried to bust into a woman’s home near St. Mary’s Park in Bernal Heights.

In both attempted burglaries, the suspect tried to break in when the resident was home. The home is on Arnold Street.

The latest attempt was Sunday. At 9:45 a.m., the woman called cops saying she heard noises outside her home and saw the man trying to pry open her window in the backyard. She hit the home alarm, and he hopped the fence and fled down a pathway, police said.

The suspect was described as a light-skinned black or Hispanic man in his late 30s, just over 6 feet tall and weighing around 180 pounds, police said. He has a distinctive afro-style haircut

PHOTO: Telstar Logistics

This is very sad. From the SF Examiner:

Sherman Brown, 59, passed away at a hospital Tuesday, according to the San Francisco Medical Examiner’s Office.

Brown was badly beaten, his face covered in blood, when cops found him in the 400 block of Prentiss Street [near Cortland] just after 7 p.m.

He had gotten into a fight and was beaten until he blacked out, police said.

A witness pointed out the attacker to officers, but arresting him wasn’t easy. The suspect, 32-year-old Anthony Pacrem, allegedly swung at a cop, then began “flailing his arms around,” which caused him to lose balance and fall to the ground, police said.

Even while on the ground, the man fought off police. Cops used pepper spray to finally halt the fighting and handcuff Pacrem, police said.

Brown was rushed to the hospital. Police initially said doctors feared he had lost his right eye in the fight. Less than two months later, Brown was dead.

UPDATE:

Reader Richard Modolo weighs in with a remembrance:

Sherman and I grew up together, and in fact he and his family lived next door to our family on Prentiss Street, and my mom still lives in the same home. I remember the day Mr and Mrs. Brown, Sherman and Fred moved in next door. Sherman was about 5 years old then. Sherman was a good guy, a hard worker, and he would not hurt anyone, it is very sad.

PHOTO: Courtesy of Alan Cleaver

What?! You couldn’t make it to the community meeting at the San Francisco Police Department’s Ingleside Station on Tuesday night to get some facetime with Captain Louis Cassanego? Lucky for you, reader Sarah attended… and she took some excellent notes. Here’s her invaluable summary of Captain Cassanego’s Bernal Heights crime report:

Notes from Community Meeting at Ingleside, 4/19/11

– There was a sexual assault in Crocker-Amazon Park around 4:30 on 4/1. An arrest has been made.

– They are still seeing lots of thefts of iPhones and iPods around Glen Park and Balboa Park BART stations. They have plainclothes officers at each station to try to catch the folks involved in this. Asian females seem to be common targets of the thieves. They think the people involved are from outside SF. Thieves can get $200 for an iPhone, so when you are using email or talking on your phone, it’s as if you were waving $200 around. Also, of course, you are distracted and more easily victimized. (The stolen phones are apparently often sold at 7th and Market, where there is a robust black market.)

– They are also seeing thefts on MUNI in which a thief grabs a victim’s purse /backpack/bag right as they are exiting through the back door of the bus.

– Burglaries are slightly down for the year. But 50% are front-door entry, meaning observant neighbors are especially essential.

– Auto thefts are high and trending up. Shaved keys can get a thief into a car in seconds, especially 1990s Toyotas, Nissans, Hondas, and Acuras. Steering-wheel clubs strongly advised.

– Car break-ins are up 44% on the year. The most heavily targeted areas are Precita Park, Glen Park, Noe Valley, and Miraloma Park. Sparkplug chips can silently break glass, and thieves like quiet, winding streets where they can hear a police car coming blocks away. In one-third of break-ins, nothing is taken (because there is nothing to take).

– The fire at 3214 Mission on 4/6 was started by a cigarette and fed by the high winds that day.

– Police arrested a 14-year-old male in possession of an assault weapon on 4/18/11 – he was seen at 30th and San Jose behind the Safeway, and numerous people called 911. They now think he was also behind a recent robbery in which a similar weapon was used (Kel Tec 223, which is like an M-16).

– I asked about Sergeant Miller, and he is returning to Ingleside in the next two weeks.

– I asked about the recent shooting on Holly Park at Appleton (a man was shot in his car around 6:30pm). They are looking into a drug deal gone bad and/or a gang connection. He couldn’t say much more about it at this time because the investigation is ongoing.

PHOTO: Telstar Logistics