A robber who started by asking his victim for cash yesterday ended up briefly holding the man prisoner instead.
Police report a 22-year-old man was approached by a 37-year-old man who pushed him and demanded money on Mission Street between 16th and 17th streets at 10:50 a.m. yesterday. The victim responded that he didn’t have any money, so the suspect grabbed his arm and demanded that the victim go to an ATM and withdraw some.
When the victim said he didn’t have any ATM cards on him, the suspect came up with a different demand: He forced the victim to pay for a hotel room and threatened him, and the younger man complied. The suspect then took the victim to the hotel room and held him there for 10 minutes.
The victim, however, soon saw a chance to escape and fled, uninjured. He then walked to Mission Police Station, where he reported the crime. With the information the victim supplied, officers were able to go to the hotel room and arrest the suspect, a San Francisco resident. He was charged with kidnapping, false imprisonment, robbery, and probation violation.
Crime is trauma and the county offers different services. Here is a link to a page of services.
Victims of violent crime can also contact the Trauma Recovery Center at UCSF.