Previously: More Details On Chez Maman, 7-11 Robberies
Two armed suspects burst into a French restaurant in San Francisco’s Potrero Hill neighborhood Tuesday night, robbing staff and nine patrons at gunpoint, police said.
The robbery at Chez Maman, located at 1453 18th St., was reported at about 9:20 p.m.
The masked suspects took cash from the register, wallets and cell phones, police spokesman Officer Samson Chan said. No one was injured.
The suspects fled on foot eastbound on 18th Street.
About two hours later, a 7-Eleven in the 2000 block of Ocean Avenue, in the Ingleside District, was robbed by two suspects with similar descriptions, police said.
“We are reviewing video footage taken from both locations,” Chan said.
(Police Wednesday clarified that the suspects in the restaurant robbery may be the same suspects in the 7-Eleven robbery, but a conclusive connection has not yet been established and police are continuing to investigate.)
In the second robbery, a male store clerk was pistol-whipped and cash was taken from the register, Chan said.
Police responding to that robbery followed a black Chevrolet Malibu seen speeding away from the scene, Chan said. A chase ensued through the Ingleside District until the car crashed at San Jose Avenue and Randall Street.
Both men jumped out of the Chevrolet and ran, Chan said. Evidence led officers to arrest Leonard Washington, 21, of San Francisco, a short time later. Police also recovered a handgun believed connected to the robbery.
Washington was booked on suspicion of robbery in connection with the 7-Eleven robbery, police said. His connection to the restaurant robbery is still being investigated.
The other suspect is still at large.
Police are also investigating whether Tuesday’s robberies are related to two other commercial robberies about a month ago, Chan said.
