The words “Give me your wallet” have become a thing of the past. The Mission’s robbers prefer, “Give me your cellphone.”
Three armed robberies were reported this weekend, all by gangs demanding their victims’ cellphones.
In May, Mission Loc@l reported that thieves were grabbing cellphones out of the hands of inattentive pedestrians, especially at bus stops and on the streets. But with people carrying less cash, and debit and credit cards becoming more secure, a cellphone is increasingly the single most valuable item that most people have with them at any given time, and robbers are beginning to catch up. Police reports indicate that armed robbers are targeting cellphones more than cash or wallets.
SFPD’s Lt. Mark Coda told Mission Loc@l in May that iPhones are especially attractive to thieves, noting that he rarely receives reports of stolen Blackberries.
But a look at crime reports since then reveals that thieves now want the devices so bad, they are willing to go the extra mile and risk being charged with a felony in order to get them. In California, the maximum sentence for petty theft is six months, while the maximum sentence for armed robbery is 25 years to life.
Also increasingly common: the notion that handing over your cellphone is part of being mugged. This Sunday, at 12:50 a.m., a man and a woman at Utah and 16th Street were approached by two 25-year-old men. One pulled out a handgun as the other said, “Give me your stuff.” The victims handed over their wallets, but also one cellphone, without even being asked.
Most cellphone robberies are less ambiguous. Last night at 11:20 p.m., a 32-year-old man was robbed by three teenagers at 22nd and San Jose. One of the suspects demanded the victim’s cellphone. He refused, but when the other two other suspects began going through his pockets, he decided not to resist. The items taken were his cellphone, wallet and a pocket multi-tool.
Today at 12:25 a.m., two 26-year-old men walking on Dolores Street near Cumberland were approached by three males in their early 20s. One of the suspects brandished a gun and another pulled out a knife. The suspects demanded the victims’ cellphones — and just their cell phones. The victims complied, and the three suspects fled on foot, leaving the victims with their wallets.
Cellphones can easily be turned into cash by selling them on the black market. Cellphone rings usually pay between $50 and $100 for stolen phones, then resell them for more. Unlocking a cellphone is not difficult, according to Richard Doherty, co-founder and director of the market research firm the Envisioneering Group. “Anybody can use a stolen phone.”
All iPhones have free gps location tracking now. You just have to sign up for it (it’s called Find My iPhone). Go do it now if you haven’t already. I wonder if any of the victims had activated it before and tried using it to track the thieves?
if the sim card is no longer in it, it does not work. The first thing a thief does is remove the sim. AT & T does not care enough to use the locator and not allow stolen phones (each phone has a unique number that is registered by the network when the phone gets a calling plan) on their network (none of the phone carriers care actually).
maybe these cellphone banditos are trying to help us by trying to get us to converse with one another instead of having our phones in our faces all the time…
Another common thievery method is snatching your phone from you on the bus just before getting off at the stop. Your head is all into words with friends and then, snatch! Off it goes, ugh.
hahahhahahahah it sounds as if thats happened to you.
Where do all these stolen phones end up? Do THAT many people buy used phones? Something doesn’t add up, for me.
This is why we need iPhones with remote detonation capabilities. A few muggers getting their hands blown off will change the dynamics. 😉
Please orient your map correctly! I’ve never seen Mission running left to right, very hard to make sense of rotated like that.
I agree, it makes the crime blotter less interesting when I’m busy trying to figure out where the hell these crimes actually took place. NORTH is NORTH Missionlocal!
I think it’s a Bay Area thing. No one from anywhere else in the world would find this acceptable for any reason. Turn it!