By JULIE JOHNSON and MOCH N. KURNIAWAN
A vendor that works at Bernal Dwellings has told Mission Loc@l that his company has opened its own investigation into the incident that occurred last week at the Bernal Dwellings public housing development.
As Mission Loc@l reported earlier, an 18-year-old woman said she was raped in her home on April 7th.
Steven St. Denny of Carpet Connection said none of his employees were suspects. However he acknowledged that his company has been asked by McCormack Baron Regan, the company that manages the development, to cooperate with investigators.
“As a woman-owned company, we take these allegations very seriously and we will cooperate with all investigations in addition to launching our own investigation,” St. Denny said in an email message.
The victim said a man who came into her home at the public housing development between Cesar Chavez and 26th Street to install carpeting assaulted her while her mother was asleep in the upstairs bedroom. Three other carpet installers who came with the fourth person were not in the apartment at the time of the incident, the victim said earlier.
The victim and two residents of Bernal Dwellings said in interviews that the installers had a burgundy van.
Sgt. Lyn Tomioka and the investigator working on the case declined to comment on the status of the investigation because it is ongoing.
Through March of this year, there have been 38 reported rapes in San Francisco, compared to 50 reported cases during the same time period in 2008, according to the police department. The most recent reported rape in the vicinity of Bernal Dwellings before the April 10 incident occurred on March 9, according to Sgt. Tomioka, who offered no details.
David Mauroff, who manages McCormack’s three San Francisco properties, confirmed that one vendor is the focus of inquiries into the April 10 assault.
“The vendor involved in this situation, they will not be working on our properties until this investigation is complete,” Mauroff said. “That happened immediately, not only for that property but for all of our properties in the city.”
McCormack’s other developments in San Francisco are Hayes Valley and Plaza East.
Eugene Avilas, who works for a junk hauler next door to Carpet Connection on Hudson Avenue, said he has seen many different colored vans used at Carpet Connection because he said the company uses independent contractors who use their own vehicles.
In a phone interview, St. Denny said his company doesn’t use subcontractors for its work. St. Denny would not discuss the details of the company’s internal investigation or how that would help police.
“From my company, you don’t have any public safety risk,” St. Denny said.
He also declined to confirm his role in the company. St. Denny was named as the owner of the company by employees who answered the phone, but Semarapiki Hassan, who was listed as St. Denny’s wife in a 2007 property deed document, is the owner according to records with the Department of Consumer Affairs Contractor State License Board.
In an email response, Hassan also said she’s been asked by McCormack to cooperate with police. She added that “as far as we know, no Carpet Connection employee is suspected of any crime.”
“With regard to the allegation made against an employee of a vendor at Bernal Dwellings, we have been contacted by McCormack and Baron and asked both to cooperate with any investigative authorities, and not to comment on the situation,” she said in the email message.
The business called Carpet Connection that is licensed with the contractors’ board under Hassan at 1663 Hudson Ave. notes that the business has no employees except for Hassan, and no workers’ compensation insurance.
Mission Loc@l reporters have spoken with several people on the phone and another in person who appeared to work at the company’s warehouse.
Mauroff from the managing company McCormack said all their vendors must be bonded and insured to work on San Francisco Housing Authority properties. However, he said they don’t keep records of vendors’ employees’ criminal background checks on file.
“We do criminal background checks on all of our employees and the vendors are expected to follow through with that same process,” Mauroff said.
Mauroff said police told him the investigation could take several months.
“We’re really focused on our residents and we’re encouraging them to cooperate with investigators so everyone can move on,” Mauroff said. “Our focus is making sure they feel safe.”
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