Second arrest made in baby kidnapping
Uncle Kracker, TLC named in Lallycooler festival lineup
The fugitive task force began looking for Betty Cross, who is accused of kidnapping 7-month-old Chosen Butler.
SFPD spokesman Sam Clemens said at Thursday's police briefing that the Fugitive Task Force received information that Cross may have been in Detroit and notified the Michigan authorities. Cross was then arrested and found with an accomplice, another Sioux Falls woman Taylor Edwards, who was arrested on Wednesday.
Clemens said police believe Edwards helped Cross bring the baby across state lines. KELOLAND's Dan Santella will have a full report both on-air and online.
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San Francisco Chronicle
13 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
S.F. residents say sex work has ‘spiraled out of control' in this neighborhood
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Laurel, whom the Chronicle agreed to identify by first name only due to safety concerns in accordance with its policy on anonymous sources, said she and her neighbors have become 'very disheartened' by the lack of meaningful response from city officials. 'It feels like our concerns are not a priority,' she said. The residents who live near the corner of 18th and Shotwell streets have asked for a handful of improvements, including better street lighting, public signage urging people to report sex trade activity, cameras to capture sex trafficking and increased overnight police presence. They've also requested an audit of the effectiveness of the Dear John program, which officials launched in November to send letters to the owners of registered vehicles caught on camera soliciting sex. SFPD has sent out only 57 letters, which advise recipients that 'it is illegal to engage in or solicit prostitution,' in the past eight months. As part of a pilot program, cameras were briefly set up on Shotwell Street to help with surveillance and deployment of the program, but the cameras were later removed when the camera company's free pilot program expired. Evan Sernoffsky, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department, said the cameras were better suited to identify stolen vehicles rather than enforcing the solicitation of prostitution. He added that the department is evaluating other surveillance options and working closely with the community to identify better ways to address the neighborhood's challenges. 'This activity is unacceptable, and we are committed to ensuring our streets are clean and safe for everyone,' Sernoffsky wrote in an email. 'We are always devoting resources to these challenges, making arrests and holding individuals accountable who are engaged in this activity.' Although SFPD occasionally conducts special operations to arrest suspected sex workers and their clients, Sernoffsky said enforcing solicitation of prostitution is resource-intensive and generally results only in misdemeanor cases. Similar to the city's homelessness and drug crises, the illicit sex trade has had a longstanding presence in San Francisco and other Bay Area cities. The Mission's quiet side streets and convenient highway access make Shotwell and other nearby streets a popular hot spot for sex workers and their clientele. Two years ago, officials set up bollards to deter sex work on Capp Street and the center of the city's illicit sex trade migrated a few blocks east to Shotwell. Frustrated by what they described as a public nuisance, a group of Shotwell residents sued the city in hopes of forcing officials to eradicate the issue. The city tried to address their concerns by setting up more barricades along Shotwell between 19th and 21st streets. Some residents opposed the barriers, arguing they would reduce parking spots, make access more difficult for emergency vehicles and potentially shift sex workers to new areas of the Mission. But Ayman Farahat, a lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, said the blockades were better than the alternative. Those blockades, which remain in place, are set up mid-block to cut down on through traffic and in intersections to prevent left turns. 'What is not fine is to not do anything about it,' Farahat said. 'Having barricades is better than not.' Farahat and the other plaintiffs dropped their lawsuit against the city earlier this year. City Attorney David Chiu said in a statement that he was pleased that the plaintiffs in the suit 'recognized the city worked tirelessly to address complaints from community members.' Residents around 18th and Shotwell, however, say their fears that the barricades would shift the sex trade down to their corner quickly materialized. They often see sex workers appear as early as 8 p.m., with some still on the street when they get up in the morning. They say the activity has made them fearful to leave their homes at night and that the loud noises and increased traffic that come along with it has led many to lose sleep at night. 'For years, it was very quiet, but now it's terrible,' said Marcia, who has lived in an apartment in the area for nearly 40 years and who also asked that her last name not be used due to safety concerns. 'I cannot sleep.' The residents sent a series of emails to public officials urging them to take action. In one, they argued 'this is not merely a nuisance — it is a humanitarian, public safety, and economic emergency that has spiraled out of control.' On Thursday evening, more than a dozen sex workers were in the area soliciting customers. Walking toward the corner of 18th and Shotwell in tall heels, mesh pants and a furry pink jacket, a sex worker named Kim said that recent actions taken by the city were not stopping her or others from coming to the area. 'Honestly it's probably just f—ing up the morning commute more than it is affecting our business,' she said about the street barriers. 'You can see the girls are still out here working and people still find a way to maneuver around to get to us.' Officers in a squad car stopped at various intersections along Shotwell Street and flashed their lights for several minutes at a time in an apparent effort to scatter the sex workers. A pair of workers who stood nearby seemed unfazed. Shortly after the cops left, a car rolled to a stop, and after speaking briefly to the driver, a sex worker hopped in.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Young girls tied to series of unprovoked attacks in San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO - A group of teenage girls is possibly tied to a series of unprovoked attacks in San Francisco, according to police. Five unprovoked attacks in July What we know Officers are investigating at least five unprovoked assaults since July that allegedly involved the same group of girls. The most recent incident occurred around 2:54 p.m. Saturday in the 100 block of Fourth Street, where officers met with two injured victims who were attacked by a group of girls, police said. The victims were treated for injuries that were not life-threatening. Police said bystanders intervened to stop the assault, and the group fled on foot. Investigators, who were already aware of similar prior incidents, obtained surveillance footage and images of the alleged attackers and shared them with patrol officers. Plainclothes officers later spotted several of the alleged perpetrators at Stonestown Galleria. Teens arrested Dig deeper A 13-year-old girl and a 14-year-old girl were detained and later arrested on suspicion of assault after officers developed probable cause during their investigation. Both were cited and released to their parents. An 11-year-old girl was detained and admonished in accordance with state law, police said. "Violent attacks like these will never be tolerated, and the SFPD will use all resources available to ensure our city is safe," Interim Police Chief Paul Yep said. "I am extremely disappointed in the actions of these individuals, and they will be held accountable." Authorities told KTVU they are still searching for more suspects. The Source San Francisco Police Department
San Francisco Chronicle
5 days ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Girls nabbed in SoMa attack that may be part of a series of assaults
Two girls, ages 13 and 14, were arrested and an 11-year-old girl was detained over the weekend in an unprovoked assault in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood that may be linked to similar attacks in recent weeks, police said. The girls match the description of suspects in at least five attacks that began in July, police said, adding that the other incidents remained under investigation. The girls were arrested Saturday, not long after the attack on Fourth Street near Mission Street. Two victims were injured when several girls attacked them around 3 p.m., police said. A witness told the San Francisco Chronicle that the assault occurred outside HeyTea, a Chinese tea drink shop, when the assailants pulled two victims who appeared to be teen girls to the ground by their hair, then kicked them and punched them. The witness spoke to the Chronicle on the condition they not be named and in accordance with the Chronicle policy on anonymous sources. Witnesses intervened, which caused the assailants to take off, police said, adding that the victims were treated for injuries that were not life-threatening. Aware of the previous attacks, officers at the Real Time Investigation Center immediately accessed surveillance video of the assault and disseminated images of the suspects to patrol officers. Officers in plain clothes located and detained the three suspects at Stonestown Galleria. The two older girls were arrested and cited on suspicion of assault. The 11-year-old girl was admonished in compliance with state law, police said. As per SFPD's policy, officers consulted with probation officers, who urged officers to release the girls to their parents at the scene, police said. 'Violent attacks like these will never be tolerated, and the SFPD will use all resources available to ensure our city is safe,' Interim Police Chief Paul Yep said. 'I am extremely disappointed in the actions of these individuals, and they will be held accountable.' News of the arrests follows a report in the Chronicle about an attack in Rincon Hill where a witness said a group of assailants who appeared to be teens pulled a woman to the ground by her hair. Police said the group shoved the woman, who did not report any injuries. It was unclear Monday if the assault was related to the other attacks in recent weeks. No further details about the other attacks were available.
