San Francisco offers cash rewards to collar auto burglars
SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco will give out cash awards of up to $100,000 for information about the ringleaders of high-level auto burglaries — in yet another push to battle crime in a city marked by attention-grabbing vehicle smash and grabs, home break-ins and retail theft.
The cash rewards would come from private donors in the tourism and hospitality industry, Mayor London Breed said at a Tuesday news conference where she was joined by San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott.
The fund has about $225,000 so far and will pay for information leading to the arrest and conviction of “high-level leaders of organized
auto burglary fencing operations,” according to a statement from Breed’s office.
Authorities have said they believe fewer than a dozen auto burglary crews are responsible for most of the smash-and-grabs in the San Francisco Bay Area.
But news reports and viral video of break-ins have reinforced the perception of San Francisco as lawless and lenient. Last month, Breed and Scott announced the city would dedicate more police to combat retail shoplifting and make reporting of shoplifting cases easier.
Breed’s office said that auto burglaries reported to police have declined since 2017, when the city recorded about 31,400. More than 15,000 auto burglaries have been reported this year, but 2021 is on track to fall below the nearly 26,000 auto burglaries reported in 2019, according to her office.
“These break-ins hurt our residents, especially working families who do not have the time or money to deal with the effects, as well as visitors to our city whose experiences are too often tarnished after an otherwise positive experience,” Breed said.
KEARNEY, Neb. — A California truck driver pleaded no contest Tuesday in a chain reaction crash that killed three people in Nebraska two years ago.
Kenneth Kratt, 36, of Madera, Calif., was charged with three counts of felony manslaughter after the crash in a construction zone on Interstate 80 near Gibbon on Sept. 20, 2019.
Kratt will remain free on bond while a presentence investigation is conducted, the Kearney Hub reported.
LAKE HAVASU CITY, Ariz. — The body of a California woman who reportedly drowned along with her husband in the Colorado River last week was recovered Tuesday, according to authorities in Arizona.
Mohave County Sheriff’s officials said the body of 68-year-old Suzan Weaver of Valley Center was pulled from the water Tuesday and positively identified.
Authorities said the woman and 75-yearold James Weaver were traveling in their boat last
Thursday when she fell in the river while trying to retrieve a personal item.
They said James Weaver then entered the water to help but lost consciousness and his wife fell below the surface a short time later.
James Weaver was taken to the shore, but lifesaving efforts by passing boaters and first responders were unsuccessful and he was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Search efforts for Suzan Weaver continued through last weekend to include dive teams, side scan sonar and helicopter visual aide, sheriff’s officials said.
The drownings occurred near Topock Gorge, about 15 miles north of Lake Havasu City.