A woman was robbed of her cellphone by two men on a San Francisco Municipal Railway bus early this morning, but another passenger helped catch one of the thieves, police said.
The robbery was reported at 1:57 a.m. near the intersection of Ninth and Mission streets in the city’s South of Market neighborhood.
The 31-year-old victim was approached from behind on the bus by a man who grabbed her cellphone from her hands, according to police.
The suspect and an accomplice ran off the bus, and when the victim gave chase, the accomplice pushed her up against a wall and began choking her, police said.
At that point, another passenger on the bus got off and put the suspect, a 25-year-old man, in a stranglehold and detained him until police arrived and arrested him.
The other suspect, a man described as in his mid-20s, was able to escape with the phone and had not been found as of this morning, according to police.
The victim was not injured, police said.
Anyone with information about the robbery or whereabouts of the suspect is encouraged to call the Police Department’s anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444 or send a tip by text message to TIP411.
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
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