Elsewhere: SFPD recovers huge pile of stolen goods Chron
Two San Francisco residents have been arrested for a series of residential and commercial burglaries in the city in the past several months, and five truckloads of stolen items have been recovered, police said.
Dozens of burglaries have taken place in the city’s Nob Hill, Russian Hill, Marina, Pacific Heights and outer Richmond neighborhoods in the past six to eight months, according to police spokeswoman Lt. Lyn Tomioka.
Homes and businesses have been burglarized, Tomioka said. Some of the homes had been listed as for sale and were not occupied, and in other cases, high-end clothing stores and a beauty salon were targeted, she said.
Police arrested Pooja Gandhi, 30, on Feb. 16 inside her apartment in the 1600 block of Polk Street, where numerous stolen items were also found, according to Tomioka.
The stolen items included entertainment systems, electronic devices, power tools, fishing poles and jewelry, and drug paraphernalia was also found, according to police.
Gandhi’s fingerprint was allegedly found at one of the burglary scenes, Tomioka said. She was charged with burglary and drug violations.
On Feb. 19, police returned to her apartment and arrested a second burglary suspect, Joseph Valdez, 33, also of San Francisco. He listed a different home address, police said.
Additional suspected stolen property was also found at that time, including electronic devices, expensive clothing and house wares, according to police.
Valdez was charged with receiving stolen property, drug possession for sale and possession of burglary tools, and is also on felony probation for theft, police said.
According to police, five full truckloads of stolen items were recovered. The value of the stolen items has not yet been determined. Anyone who suspects they may have been a victim is asked to contact Sgt. Martin Lalor at Northern Station at (415) 614-3400.
Police said they are investigating whether there are additional suspects.
