San Franciscos Bemühungen, die Drogenmärkte unter freiem Himmel in der Innenstadt auszurotten und die historischen Überdosisraten zu senken, haben im letzten Monat mit der Ankündigung, dass die Polizei und 130 Sheriff-Stellvertreter eingesetzt werden, um die Zahl der Verhaftungen zu erhöhen, zugenommen.

Der neue Vorstoß ist Teil einer laufenden Strategie, die ab heute die Eröffnung eines persönlichen Koordinierungszentrums der Drug Market Agency in der Nähe des Civic Center umfassen wird, um „Eingriff, Durchsetzung und Behandlung“ von Drogenkonsum und -verkäufen zu koordinieren, heißt es das Büro des Bürgermeisters.

Wird es funktionieren? Es kommt auf das Ziel an.

Von Mission Local durchgeführte Interviews mit 14 Pflichtverteidigern, Bezirksstaatsanwälten, Strafjustizexperten und Mitarbeitern des öffentlichen Gesundheitswesens vor Ort und im ganzen Land ergaben einen gemeinsamen Refrain: Es wurden Verhaftungswellen wegen Drogendelikten vor Gericht gestellt – und sie sind gescheitert.

Das heißt, sie scheiterten, wenn das Ziel der Verhaftungen darin bestand, die Sucht einzudämmen, das Leiden zu lindern und Leben zu retten.

Einige sagten jedoch, wenn das Ziel darin bestehe, den Drogenkonsum aus der Öffentlichkeit zu verbannen, bestehe eine äußerliche Chance, dass eine Verhaftungswelle funktionieren könnte.

Es sei möglich, sagten einige, dass die Androhung einer Verhaftung einige Menschen, die Drogen nehmen, dazu zwingen könnte, sich behandeln zu lassen. Andere befürchteten jedoch, dass die neuen Protokolle der Stadt zu mehr Überdosierungen und riskanterem Verhalten führen würden, da normale Wege des Drogenkonsums überwacht und die Versorgung eingeschränkt würden.

Eines scheint aus den Gesprächen klar zu sein: Das neu angekündigte Protokoll von San Francisco scheint ein Versuch zu sein, den Ruf der Stadt aus den Fängen des vorherrschenden „Doom Loop“-Narrativs rechtzeitig für die Wiederwahlkampagne von Bürgermeister London Breed im Jahr 2024 wiederzubeleben.

„Der Bürgermeister ist verzweifelt“, sagte David Latterman, ein Politikberater in San Francisco, der normalerweise Kampagnen für gemäßigte Kandidaten durchführt. „Die Dinge sind am Siedepunkt.“

Latterman wies darauf hin, dass sich die Innenstadt von San Francisco von allen Städten des Landes am langsamsten von Covid-19 erholt. Jetzt, sagt er, müsse die Stadt mit anderen konkurrieren, was sie noch nie zuvor getan habe. Alles, was die Revitalisierung behindern könnte, stelle ein Problem dar, sagte Latterman.

„Von Willie Brown bis Newsom hatten wir wirtschaftsfreundliche Leute im Amt, die den Straßen nicht viel Aufmerksamkeit geschenkt haben.“ Und jetzt, sagte er, zahlen wir den Preis.

Für einige sind strenge Maßnahmen vielversprechend

„Die Verhaftung von Menschen wird die Sucht nicht lösen“, sagte SFPD-Chef Bill Scott. „Aber es wird den Ton angeben: ‚Das ist nicht in Ordnung‘.“

Steve Wagstaffe, Bezirksstaatsanwalt für San Mateo County, stimmte zu, dass die neuen Maßnahmen eine Möglichkeit sein könnten, Menschen in Behandlung zu bringen, indem sie denjenigen, die in der Öffentlichkeit Drogen konsumieren, das Leben erschweren.

„Mir scheint es ziemlich offensichtlich zu sein, das Tenderloin zu beobachten – all die Sozialarbeiter, die herumlaufen und versuchen, die Leute zu überzeugen, funktionieren nicht“, sagte er.

Was viele als Ansatz zur Schadensminimierung ansehen, sei erfolglos, sagte er. Aber wiederholte Gefängnisstrafen könnten ein guter Motivator für Menschen mit Drogenabhängigkeit sein, sich schließlich einer Behandlung zu unterziehen.

Wagstaffe sagte, er sei sich nicht sicher, ob es dort besser laufen würde, wenn es um die Entsendung von Beamten an Krisenherde für Drogenmärkte ginge, „aber es ist etwas.“

Der ehemalige Polizeibeamte aus Baltimore, Peter Moskos, der heute Professor an der Abteilung für Recht, Polizeiwissenschaft und Strafjustizverwaltung am John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York ist, sagte, er sei optimistisch hinsichtlich des Ansatzes von San Francisco.

„Man muss unerbittlich sein“, sagte Moskos mit Blick auf die Botschaften zu Regeln und Konsequenzen. „Es ist erstaunlich, wie schnell sich Verhalten ändern kann.“

„Einfach Polizeiarbeit funktioniert. „Das Ziel ist eine Verhaltensänderung“, sagte Moskos. „Auch wenn das eine Verhaftung bedeutet [someone] 20 mal.”

Moskos sagte, dass oft schon die Androhung einer Verhaftung eine abschreckende Wirkung haben könne.

Moskos verwies auf die Auswirkungen zerbrochener Fensterscheiben in New York City in den frühen 90er Jahren, eine Praxis, die von Bürgerrechtsaktivisten weithin als schädlich angesehen wurde, und sagte, dass die Stadt bei der ersten Erprobung des Protokolls in der U-Bahn die Anwesenheit von Polizisten festgestellt habe allein war ein wirksamer Dämpfer für U-Bahn-Kriminalität.

Andere kritisierten den Ansatz.

„Wenn man sich einfach einen Ausweg aus der Sache verschaffen könnte, hätten die Leute das meiner Meinung nach schon vor langer Zeit getan“, sagte Jonathan Abel, außerordentlicher Rechtsprofessor am UC College of the Law in San Francisco.

„Das Strafrecht ist nicht nur für die Behandlung nicht gut geeignet, es ist auch sehr teuer“, sagte er. Staatsanwälte, Pflichtverteidiger und Richter – jeder muss bezahlt werden.

„​​Wenn das nur politisches Kino ist“, fügte er hinzu. „Es ist auf die schlimmste Art verschwenderisch.“

Verhaftungen gefährden Benutzer

Die Stellvertreter des Sheriffs, die demnächst ihr Debüt geben werden, werden die Polizei von San Francisco dabei unterstützen, die Zahl der Verhaftungen wegen öffentlicher Trunkenheit, Drogenbesitz und/oder Drogenverkaufs zu erhöhen.

Das Büro des Sheriffs gab an, dass man sich hauptsächlich auf Ordnungswidrigkeiten konzentrieren werde, die bislang nur lückenhaft geahndet würden. Die betreffenden Gesetze sehen je nach den Umständen eine Gefängnisstrafe von sechs Monaten bis vier Jahren und/oder eine Geldstrafe vor.

Am stärksten dürften die Verhaftungen bei schwarzen und braunen Konsumenten ausfallen – in San Francisco ist die Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass Schwarze verhaftet werden, sechsmal höher als bei Weißen – sowie bei Obdachlosen, die auf der Straße Drogen nehmen. Wer zu Hause oder im Verein ist, kann es hingegen privat nutzen.

Laut Mano Raju, dem Pflichtverteidiger von San Francisco, werden die neuen Verhaftungen auch das Strafjustizsystem der Stadt in Frage stellen. Er betonte, dass Sucht eine Störung sei – „kein kriminelles Verhalten“.

Raju wies darauf hin, dass das derzeitige System bereits überlastet sei und dass Strafanzeigen wegen zunehmender Verhaftungen den Rückstand nur noch vergrößern würden – die Staatsanwaltschaft sagt, dass mehr als 1.100 Angeklagten „ihr verfassungsmäßiges Recht auf ein zügiges Verfahren“ in der jetzigen Form verweigert wird.

„Dies wird eine bereits prekäre Situation noch verschärfen“, sagte Raju.

Darüber hinaus drängen Verhaftungen jemanden, der bereits gefährdet ist, in der Regel noch mehr an den Rand der Situation. „Es erhöht oft das Risiko einer Überdosierung, wenn Menschen über einen längeren Zeitraum eingesperrt waren“, fügte er hinzu.

Andrew Suchocki, der medizinische Direktor der Clackamas County Health Centers in Oregon, sagte, dass Verhaftungen einen Folgeplan erfordern.

„Wenn man sie einfach ins Gefängnis werfen würde, würde ich viel mehr darüber wissen wollen, was sie tun werden, wenn sie im Gefängnis sind“, sagte Suchocki.

Er wies darauf hin, dass ein effektives Fallmanagement sowohl im Gefängnis als auch nach der Haftentlassung von entscheidender Bedeutung sei. „Weil es unmenschlich ist, jemanden ohne Medikamente entgiften und entlassen zu lassen … ohne Plan“, sagte er. „Das Risiko einer Überdosis ist am höchsten, wenn Sie aus dem Gefängnis entlassen werden.“

Eine im März veröffentlichte Studie, die sich auf Drogenrazzien in Indianapolis konzentrierte, zeigte, dass in Vierteln, in denen die Versorgung durch die Polizei unterbrochen wurde, die Überdosierungen in der Gegend zunahmen. „Personen mit einer Opioidkonsumstörung, die ihren Vorrat verlieren, erleben sowohl eine abnehmende Toleranz als auch einen Entzug“, heißt es in der Studie.

Die Analyse stellt außerdem fest, dass Drogenbeschlagnahmungen durch die Polizei die Verkäufer tendenziell dazu veranlassen, ein wirksameres Produkt einzuführen, um die Menge zu reduzieren und den Umsatz aufrechtzuerhalten.

Ricky Bluthenthal, Professor an der Abteilung für Präventivmedizin der University of Southern California, verglich die öffentlichen Festnahmen wegen Drogenkonsums in San Francisco mit Razzien gegen Obdachlose, die in der Skid Row in Los Angeles, einem Viertel ähnlich dem Tenderloin, weit verbreitet waren.

„Lagerräumungen erhöhen die Sterblichkeit“, sagte Bluthenthal. Ebenso wie Razzien werden Verhaftungen „den Drogenkonsum in der Öffentlichkeit nicht reduzieren – sie werden ihn lediglich verschieben.“

In von ihm in San Francisco, Oakland und Richmond geleiteten Studien stellte Bluthenthal fest, dass Menschen, die befürchteten, wegen Spritzenbesitzes verhaftet zu werden, stattdessen eher Nadeln teilten – was ihr Risiko, Hepatitis C und HIV zu ausgesetzt, erheblich erhöhte.

Es sei mehr als wahrscheinlich, dass die Stadtführer in San Francisco „auf politische Bedenken reagieren“, sagte er.

Kosmetische Veränderungen

Jonathan Simon, Professor für Strafrecht an der UC Berkeley, spekulierte, dass das Ziel, soweit er die verschwommenen Aussagen der Stadt zu dem Vorgehen verstehen kann, einfach darin bestehen könnte, Menschen von „den peinlichsten Orten“ der Stadt wegzudrängen.

Er sagte, es sei zwar möglich, aber es sei unklar, wie erfolgreich das sein würde.

„Sie können die Leute wahrscheinlich ein wenig bewegen“, sagte Simon. „Man kann sie motivieren, weniger offensichtliche Orte für den Drogenkonsum aufzusuchen.“

Aber er bemerkte: „Selbst wenn man Menschen für die Kurzreise ins Gefängnis schickt, verringert sich der Schaden nicht.“ Es könnte durchaus zu mehr Nutzung und mehr Bedarf führen.“ Und bei der Freilassung könnte dieses Bedürfnis zu einer Überdosis führen.

Andere schlossen sich dieser Aussage an und räumten ein, dass der Drogenkonsum in Städten selten allein aufgrund repressiver Maßnahmen zurückgeht.

„Sagen wir, es gibt einen Mann, der auf dem Bürgersteig von Golden Gate und Leavenworth ohnmächtig geworden ist“, sagte Don Ayoob, Richter im San Mateo County. „Und die Wahl ist also: Soll ich diesen Kerl zur Entgiftung mitnehmen? Oder bringe ich diesen Kerl ins Gefängnis?“

„Es scheint, als ob die Politik in San Francisco darin besteht, sie ins Gefängnis zu bringen“, sagte Ayoob. Ihm zufolge entgiften Menschen im San Mateo County ein paar Tage lang im Gefängnis und werden dann freigelassen. Und danach? „Sie werden sich nicht behandeln lassen, sie werden high werden.“

Eine wirkliche Auswirkung, sagte Ayoob, würde sich aus der Verhaftung der „Leute an der Spitze“ und der Verkäufer ergeben, die auch Drogen konsumieren – nicht der Käufer. Zu diesem Schluss kam auch ein Bericht der Street Level Drug Dealing Task Force von San Francisco aus dem Jahr 2021, der 2019 vom Aufsichtsrat und dem Bürgermeister zusammengestellt wurde.

Der Bericht empfahl den Ausbau von Dienstleistungen und sicheren Konsumseiten sowie die Priorisierung von Maßnahmen gegen Verkäufer, die nicht mit Sucht zu kämpfen haben. Die Ergebnisse der Task Force wurden zurückgestellt.

„Weniger als die Hälfte der Menschen, die in San Mateo wegen Besitzes festgenommen wurden, sind bereit, sich einer Behandlung zu unterziehen“, fügte Ayoob hinzu.

In San Francisco könnte die Zahl sogar noch niedriger sein, wo Bürgermeister Breed sagte, keiner der 25 Ende Mai wegen öffentlicher Trunkenheit verhafteten Personen habe Gottesdienste angenommen.

„Festnahmen haben bestenfalls kurzfristige, meist visuelle Auswirkungen“, sagte Peter Davidson, Professor für Global Public Health an der UC San Diego. “Was [San Francisco is] tun bedeutet [people who use drugs] Untertauchen, was bedeutet, dass sie immer noch Drogen konsumieren, und es ist viel wahrscheinlicher, dass sie nur Drogen konsumieren.“

Rund um Nordamerika

Die nördlichen Nachbarn Kaliforniens haben unterschiedliche Ansätze zur Bekämpfung des Anstiegs der Überdosierungen gewählt.

Der Bundesstaat Washington hat im Mai ein Gesetz verabschiedet, das den Besitz härterer Drogen wie Kokain und Meth zu einem groben Vergehen erhebt. Gleichzeitig wurde ein Teil eines bald auslaufenden Gesetzes abgeschafft, das die Polizei dazu verpflichtet, festgenommene Konsumenten bei ihren ersten beiden Verhaftungen einer Behandlung – und einer Gefängnisstrafe – zu überweisen Zeit für den dritten. Das Gesetz sieht die Finanzierung von Kliniken und die Hilfe beim Zugang zu Ressourcen vor.

Am anderen Ende des Spektrums führte Oregon im Jahr 2021 eine Maßnahme ein, die Drogen im Bundesstaat entkriminalisierte und stattdessen Millionen Menschen in Behandlungszentren leitete, die Schadensminderung, Genesungsprogramme und Wohnhilfe umfassen. Befürworter sagen, die Maßnahme sei eine humane Alternative zum Gefängnis und argumentieren, dass nur wenige Menschen in Gefängnissen und Gefängnissen im ganzen Land behandelt würden und die Überdosierungsraten in der Haft gestiegen seien.

Allerdings hatten bis Februar 2022, ein Jahr nach Inkrafttreten des Oregon-Gesetzes, nur 1 Prozent der Nutzer eine Genesungsbehandlung über die im Gesetzentwurf finanzierten Programme in Anspruch genommen. Einige sagen, es sei zu früh, um den Erfolg zu messen – andere halten dies für einen Misserfolg.

Über einen längeren Zeitraum hinweg könnten Städte Erfolg haben. Professor Peter Davidson wies darauf hin, dass in Vancouver, Kanada, früher regelmäßig gegen Gebiete vorgegangen wurde, in denen Drogen vorherrschen, insbesondere in der Innenstadt von Eastside, einer Gegend, die viele mit dem Tenderloin vergleichen.

Vancouver ist die Heimat der weltweit ersten Methadon-Klinik, die 1959 gegründet wurde, und verfügt seit 2003 über sichere Injektionsstellen. Die Stadt hat auch Pionierarbeit geleistet, um Techniken zur Schadensminderung zu zentrieren – während im Laufe der Jahre die Zahl der Todesopfer durch Drogenüberdosierungen in British Columbia zurückging ist auf die Tausende gestiegen.

Laut Davidson hat Vancouver im Januar die strafrechtliche Verfolgung von Personen eingestellt, die weniger als 2,5 Gramm harte Drogen wie Fentanyl und Heroin besitzen, und stattdessen eine Behandlung statt einer Gefängnisstrafe angeboten.

Die Sterblichkeitsrate durch Überdosierung sei in den Monaten seit der Entkriminalisierung gesunken, sagte Davidson. Da der Zugang zu sicheren Injektionsstellen und sauberer Versorgung Vorrang hat, ist die Wahrscheinlichkeit höher, dass sich Menschen in den nächsten Monaten in Behandlung begeben, als diejenigen, die nach der Gefängnisstrafe überwiesen werden.

„Im besten Fall“, sagte Davidson über die Durchsetzung von Verhaftungen gegen Benutzer, „erhält man eine vorübergehende Vertreibung und macht es für eine Weile zum Problem eines anderen.“ Und es kommt zu einer ganzen Reihe von Todesfällen, die es sonst nie gegeben hätte.“

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(KRON) – According to San Francisco police, a man was arrested Monday morning at the Castro on suspicion of committing a hate crime against two men.

Person on tracks causes BART delays, coroner responded to scene at Bay Fair station

The incident began just before noon near 18th Street and Hartford Street. The two victims, a 40-year-old man and a 58-year-old man, said a suspect followed them on foot while “aggressively shouting anti-LGBTQ language,” police said. He then allegedly threw a glass object at the couple and the 40-year-old man suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Officials investigating the attack found a likely cause for the arrest of 20-year-old Muhammed Abdullah, who they found in the Dolores Park area. Abdullah allegedly fled from police on foot and was arrested near 18th Street and Church Street. He was later sent to the San Francisco County Jail on two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of committing a hate crime and resisting arrest.

KRON On is streaming now

“Attacks of this nature are unacceptable,” said Police Commissioner William Scott. “It is of particular concern that this incident occurred as we celebrate Pride Month in San Francisco. Anyone who threatens or harms someone because of their LGBTQ community affiliation will be held accountable.”

According to the police, the investigation is not yet complete. Anyone with information about the attack is asked to contact the SFPD’s Tip Line at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411. You can choose to remain anonymous.

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Mission Local is informed that San Francisco police earlier today made an arrest in connection with the April 4 killing of tech executive Bob Lee after an operation was conducted outside of city limits. The alleged killer also works in engineering and is a man Lee allegedly knew.

We are told that police were dispatched to Emeryville today with a warrant to arrest a man named Nima Momeni. The name and address in Emeryville. SFPD officials traveled to correspond with this man, the owner of a company called Expand IT.

Multiple police sources have not described the pre-dawn stabbing last week that killed 43-year-old Lee in a deserted section of downtown San Francisco as neither an attempted robbery nor a random attack.

Rather, Lee and Momeni were portrayed by police as familiar with each other. In the early hours of April 4, they were allegedly driving together through downtown San Francisco in a car registered to the suspect.

Allegedly, some sort of confrontation began while both men were in the vehicle and possibly continued after Lee exited the car. Police allege Momeni stabbed Lee multiple times with a knife, which was recovered not far from where officers originally responded on the 300 block of Main Street.

This scenario would partially explain why at 2:30 a.m. Lee was walking through a portion of Main Street where there is little to no foot traffic. That was one of several incongruous circumstances surrounding Lee’s violent death, which law enforcement officials said from the start felt it was anything but a simple or random crime.

Still, some of Lee’s tech industry peers and a chorus of other influential voices portrayed this murder as part of a city engulfed in violent crime and descending into further chaos. While Lee is one of a dozen murder victims in San Francisco this year, his murder is the only one that has received national — or, in most cases, only superficial local coverage.

The other San Francisco murder victims of 2023 are Gavin Boston, 40; Irving Sanchez Morales, 28; Carlos Romero Flores, 29; Maxwell Maltzman, 18; Demario Lockett, 44; Maxwell Mason, 29; Humberto Avila, 46; Gregory McFarland Jr., 36; Kareem Sims, 43; Debra Lynn Hord, 57; and Jermaine Reeves, 52.

In San Francisco there is much visible public misery, troubling street behavior and blatant drug use. Property crime rates have long been high and police detection rates for property crimes have long been minimal. However, the city’s violent crime rate is at near historic lows and lower than most medium-to-large cities.

Homicides per 100,000 population

In recent years,

The number of murders increased in San

Francisco – but they stay

low compared to

historical trends

Homicides per 100,000 population

In recent years,

The number of murders increased in San

Francisco – but they stay

low compared to historical trends

Diagram by Will Jarrett. Data from the California Department of Justice and the Census Bureau.

Today’s arrest appears to disprove the notion that San Francisco’s streets caused Lee’s violent death. If the police have their man, what was involved was neither a robbery nor a gratuitous assault by a random assailant, but an alleged argument between men who knew each other, which the suspect allegedly escalated into a deadly conflict.

However, Lee’s death was summed up in the media and on social media as a highlight of recent San Francisco misfortunes and crimes: large groups of young people feuding in Stonestown; the abrupt closure of mid-tier Whole Foods, leaving San Franciscans with just eight other Whole Foods within city limits; the severe caning of former fire commissioner Don Carmignani in the Marina District, allegedly by belligerent homeless people – all of which creates a sense of a city dying.

However, this type of reporting does not capture the actual life experience of the vast majority of San Franciscans. Also, potentially extenuating details of each event are omitted. Carmignani, for example, was brutally hit in the head with a metal bar and hospitalized. But the lawyer for his alleged attacker claims the former fire commissioner initially pepper-sprayed the homeless man accused of hitting him – which would certainly falsify this incident.

Notably, police sources report that prior to this incident, a number of homeless people in the Marina District had been pepper sprayed.

The Lee arrest is a groundbreaking story. We will update or track this item asap.

To update:

Records from San Francisco show that Nima Momeni was taken to jail at 9:19 a.m

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March 27 – Greensburg police are looking for help locating a plumber who allegedly took $13,900 from a townsman and failed to replace a sewer line.

Investigators said in a Facebook post that Unity’s Mark Loughran, 52, who runs ML Plumbing, has an arrest warrant out for home improvement fraud.

“Loughran is aware of his warrant and has not responded to our attempts to contact him,” police said.

The Westminster Avenue resident told police she hired Loughran in June to remove and replace a clay sewer line. The original estimate was about $9,900, and Loughran charged an additional $4,000, authorities said.

In December, sewage was backing up in the home’s basement, and another contractor confirmed clay pipes had not been replaced, according to court records. A bid for the other contractor’s job was $7,500.

A warrant for Loughran’s arrest was issued in February when the charges were brought.

According to online court records, Loughran has a criminal history dating back to the 1990s. A bank order

The letter was sent to him in mid-February after he appeared to fail to show up for a preliminary hearing in a separate home improvement fraud case in Hempfield, according to online court filings. Previously he was in prison for theft and

Home improvement fraud allegations.

ML Plumbing has an F rating from the Better Business Bureau. A warning on its website in September says consumers have filed complaints and the company hasn’t acted on them.

Anyone with information on Loughran’s whereabouts is asked to call the Greensburg Police Department at 724-834-3800.

Renatta Signorini is a contributor to the Tribune-Review. You can contact Renatta via email at rsignorini@triblive.com or via Twitter.

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Police have arrested a man suspected of firing a blank-loaded gun at a San Francisco synagogue.

The man was arrested in the Richmond Borough on Friday night on suspicion of disrupting a religious gathering, brandishing a mock firearm and causing another to forgo a church service, police said in a statement.

Dmitri Mishin, 51, of San Francisco was taken to jail just before 12:30 a.m. Saturday and held without bail, according to the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office website.

It was not immediately known if he had an attorney speaking on his behalf.

Mishin is suspected of entering the Schneerson Center on Balboa Street just before 7:30 pm Wednesday, which hosts services and classes and social activities for the local Russian Jewish community.

Surveillance video posted by KTVU-TV with no sound showed a man wearing a baseball cap, jacket and sneakers entering a room with more than a dozen people seated around a table. The man made hand gestures before drawing a gun and firing. When an elderly man approached him, he walked to the door, saluted and left.

Mattie Pil, the synagogue’s president, told the San Francisco Chronicle that her husband, Rabbi Bentzion Pil, was seated at a table with about 25 seniors who were attending a study session when a man entered.

When asked where he was from, the man said he was with the Mossad, Israel’s secret service. Then he drew the gun, said Mattie Pil.

People around the table seemed calm, but the rabbi said they were stunned.

“We were shocked,” he said. “Nobody expected it. I was about to go to the kitchen to get a knife… but the whole thing took about 20 seconds.”

No injuries or damage were reported and investigators believe the man used spaces.

A day before the shooting, Mishin entered a theater several blocks away on Balboa Street, drew a gun, and fled, police said.

No shots were fired.

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HOUSTON — Authorities say newly tested DNA evidence helped them make an arrest in the killings more than eight years ago of a family, including two boys, who were shot in their suburban Houston home.

Feng Lu, 58, who had long been considered a suspect in the case, was arrested on Sunday by police in San Francisco after his arrival from China, according to Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.

Lu has been charged with capital murder in the deaths of Maoye Sun and his wife Mei Xie and the couple’s two sons, 7-year-old Titus and 9-year-old Timothy, the sheriff said in a tweet on Tuesday.

Lu was being held Wednesday at a jail in San Mateo County, California, pending extradition to Texas. Court records did not list an attorney for Lu who could speak on his behalf.

The bodies of all four family members were found on Jan. 30, 2014, in their home in the Houston suburb of Cypress. All had been shot in the head. Investigators said Sun was last seen alive leaving work on Jan. 24.

Lu was linked to the killings after new forensic testing done in January on samples that previously were not able to be identified showed that Lu’s DNA was found on a purse that belonged to Xie, according to a probable cause affidavit.

The DNA testing contradicted statements Lu had made previously to investigators in which he had said he did not know Xie or her children and didn’t know where the family lived, according to the affidavit.

Authorities have not disclosed a motive for the killings, but according to the affidavit, Lu had unsuccessfully tried to get Sun’s help with a promotion at work. Both had worked at Cameron International, which provides products and services to oil and gas companies.

Lu “stated he believed that (Sun) made derogatory comments about him to fellow co-workers … which may have been the reason he did not get the promotion,” according to the affidavit.

Investigators say Lu had bought a handgun a week before the killings and then returned it five days after the killings without the weapon’s barrel. Authorities allege Lu gave inconsistent stories about what happened to the gun’s barrel. Investigators also allege that bullets Lu had bought with the gun had likely been manufactured on the same machine as the bullet that killed one of the boys, Titus.

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If you know of local business openings or closings, please notify us here.

PREVIOUS OPENINGS AND CLOSINGS

· Air Products and Chemicals Inc.’s chosen warehouse developer, Prologis Inc., will have to wait until July 13 for a final decision by Upper Macungie Township’s zoning hearing board on 2.61 million square feet of warehouses. 

· Chubby’s of Southside Easton has added Krispy Krunchy Chicken to its offerings and name.

· Curaleaf Holdings Inc., which operates in the U.S. and Europe, will open a medical-marijuana dispensary at 1801 Airport Road, Hanover Township.

· Habitat for Humanity, which has “ReStores” that sell new and lightly used furniture, has leased 30,000 square feet at the South Mall.

· Nat Hyman’s bid to convert an old warehouse at 938 Washington St. in Allentown into 48 apartments did not win zoning hearing board approval this week after neighbors said more housing would make an on-street parking shortage worse.

· Members 1st Federal Credit Union opened a new branch this week at 5605 Hamilton Blvd, Trexlertown. It’s one of five planned for the Lehigh Valley. 

· A Turkish restaurant has relocated from one downtown to another, taking its fresh ingredients and cozy atmosphere from Nazareth to 200 Main St., Tatamy.

· The Tennessee Titans have chosen Allentown-based Shift4 Payments to handle payments at Nissan Stadium.

· Wells Fargo Bank held ribbon-cutting at its downtown Allentown branch at 740 Hamilton St.

· The Wiz Kidz outlet at the Madison Farms residential/retail development in Bethlehem Township will hold a grand reopening and ribbon-cutting at noon on July 15.

· Bad Biscuit Company, which offered breakfast with scratch-made biscuits, freshly baked pastry and local, small-batch artisan coffee, said it will cease operations at 16 Columbia Ave. in Reading after its July 1 hours.

· FastBridge Fiber has announced it will build an all-fiber cable network that will offer ultra-fast internet in the Reading area.

· Hamid Chaudhry has said he no longer plans to move forward with pursuing a food truck park he previously proposed on the site of the former Sheetz convenience store and gas station in Exeter Township at 6600 Perkiomen Ave. (Route 422 East). 

· The Maxatawny Township Planning Commission has OK’d a proposal for a Mavis Discount Tire store in the Kutztown Road shopping center that features a Giant supermarket.

· Valentino’s Italian restaurant has gotten Maxatawny Township’s approval to remain open when the state transportation department takes one-third of its parking lot to build a traffic roundabout at the intersection of Route 222 and Long Lane.

· Pocono Mountain Harley-Davidson, under new ownership, will hold a “Grand Re-Opening Bash” July 9 and July 10 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

· Sauce West End plans to open in a former Rita’s Italian Ice, just off Route 209 across from the Tractor Supply store in Brodheadsville.

· The Surgery Center of Pottsville, which offered medical procedure services for 16 years in Cressona Mall. will close June 28.

· Wells Fargo has closed its branch office in Langhorne, near the intersection with Maple Avenue.

· The latest PrimoHoagies location in New Jersey held a grand opening at 1930 State Route 57, Hackettstown.

· A new Tractor Supply Co. store in Warren County will have its grand opening in the former Toys ‘R’ Us store in Pohatcong Plaza on July 9.

· Hunter Pocono Peterbilt plans to move Pocono Township operations to Stroudsburg.

· Coal Winery and Kitchen at 81 Broad St., Bethlehem, has closed as its owner searches for a new location for the business, according to its Facebook page. 

· Lowhill Township supervisors approved a 312,120-square-foot commercial warehouse and distribution center on a 43.4-acre tract on the west side of Route 100, south of the Kernsville Road intersection.

· The Mint Gastropub at 1223 W. Broad St., Bethlehem, announced that it has temporarily closed to undergo a merger with a “well-known restaurant group” from Bethlehem.

· The Slatington Farmers Market opened its 28,000-square-foot showroom, which includes space for 53 vendors, as well as a 4,000-square-foot event space.

· St. Luke’s University Health Network opened a new pediatric inpatient unit next to the eight-bed pediatric intensive care unit at St. Luke’s University Hospital – Bethlehem.

· 25th Asian House opened at the location of the former Tin Tin Chinese restaurant in the 25th Street Shopping Center in Palmer Township.

· The Chick-Fil-A in Broadcasting Square shopping center in Spring Township was razed to make way for a new, expanded facility for the popular chicken sandwich restaurant.

· Plans for drive-thru locations of a Chipotle and a Starbucks at the intersection of Ivy League Drive and Kutztown Road were rejected by Maxatawny Township planners.

· Cumru Township plannes reviewed preliminary plans for NorthPoint-Morgantown Commerce Center, a 738,720-square-foot warehouse to be built on 75.2 acres at Morgantown Road (State Route 10) and Freemansville Road.

· Kutztown University has plans to expand its historic Poplar House to 13,161 square feet with an addition around its side and back, but keep the 129-year-old structure intact.

· A wine store and beverage outlet could be coming to a new two-unit building along the commercial strip of Blakeslee Boulevard Drive East in Lehighton, Carbon County.

· ChristianaCare, a Delaware health care organization, has announced it will buy the former Jennersville Hospital in West Grove, Chester County.

· Garden of Health Inc. celebrated the opening of the food bank’s new warehouse at 201 Church Road, North Wales, in Montgomery County.

· Silverline Trailers Inc. opened its first location in Pennsylvania and in the Northeast at 223 Porter Road, Pottstown, where it sells utility, cargo, dump, equipment and car hauler trailers. 

· A new smoothie and bowl restaurant, Sips & Berries, opened at 285 Maple Ave., Harleysville, in Montgomery County.

· Terrain on the Parkway offers 160 new 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom apartments at 1625 Lehigh Parkway East in Allentown. 

· Lehigh Valley native Don Wenner is moving his real estate investment and finance firm DLP Capital from Bethlehem to Allentown at 835 W. Hamilton St.

· While Wells Fargo has been the leader in closing banks lately, it will hold a ribbon-cutting for its new downtown Allentown office at 740 Hamilton St. on June 30.

· If you’re in the market for sterling silver jewelry, minerals and semi-precious gemstones, C& I Minerals is now operating at the South Mall at 3300 Lehigh St. in Allentown.

· The Allentown-based utility company PPL Corp. bought a major Rhode Island utility.

· Ownership at Martellucci’s Pizzeria in Bethlehem has changed, but Paul and Donna Hlavinka and their family are running the pizza place at 1419 Easton Ave., just as it has been operated for 49 years. 

· Dr. Jacob Kasprenski’s new Kasprenski Family Eye Care opened at 1088 Howertown Road, Catasauqua.

· Josie’s New York Deli in downtown Easton closed early in the COVID-19 pandemic, but a June 13 Historic District Commission meeting approved a request for a new sign at its building at 14 Centre Square. 

· Zekraft cafe has opened its second location in the Easton Silk Mill in Easton. The first Zekraft restaurant was opened in Bethlehem. The restaurants’ menus change frequently, with a focus on local ingredients. 

· Manta Massage at 319 Main St., Emmaus, will hold its grand opening on July 10 starting at 11 a.m. 

· The former Iron Lakes Country Club, constructed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, will operate at 3625 Shankweiler Road in North Whitehall Township under its new name, The Club at Twin Lakes. 

· Prologis, a titan in the logistics industry, will own and operate three warehouses proposed in Upper Macungie Township at the former Air Products headquarters campus at 7201 Hamilton Blvd. 

· Lehigh Valley Health Network ceremonially opened its first Carbon County hospital — a $78 million, 100,578-square-foot facility at 2128 Blakeslee Boulevard Drive East in Mahoning Township.

· Pocono Township commissioners voted to accept Swiftwater Solar’s preliminary final plan for the $111 million, 80-megawatt field on a private 644-acre site on top of Bear Mountain that would include about 200,000 solar panels.

· Firetree Ltd. wants to expand its in-patient rehab operation at the former Sands Ford auto dealership at 440 N Claude A Lord Blvd. (Route 61), Pottsville.

· A Dunkin’ in Schuylkill County located at 400 Terry Rich Blvd., St. Clair, has become just the fourth location of the donut and coffee chain to go entirely digital. 

· The Conservatory music school in Bucks County will close after 34 years, and school officials say the COVID-19 pandemic is the cause. The nonprofit, located at 4059 Skyron Drive, Doylestown, will close June 30.

· A Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen and Arby’s will be built on the site of the former Ahart’s Market on Route 22 in Phillipsburg, New Jersey.

· Hunterdon County Chamber of Commerce offices and the Unity Bank Center for Business & Entrepreneurship will be located at 119 Main St., Flemington. 

· Honeygrow opens Quakertown location, next to Chipotle on Route 309, on June 3.

· Dunkin’ reopens remodeled restaurant at 1174 MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township

· Muse Modern Med Spa at 325 Fifth St. in Whitehall Township  will hold a grand opening June 4.

· Around Again, a consignment store, opened at 154 S. Main St., Phillipsburg

· Steak and Steel Hibachi, a restaurant in the works at 44 W. Walnut St., Bethlehem, still plans on opening late this summer. 

· Take It Outdoors Recreation Hub has moved to a spot along the Schuylkill River Trail at Riverfront Park in Pottstown, Montgomery County

· Pedego Electric Bikes has a new outlet in Lambertville, N.J. at 13 N. Union St.

· Amanda Vachris has opened a new Keller Williams Real Estate office at 15 St. John St. in Schuylkill Haven.

· Easton’s new West Ward Market will open Wednesday and be open on Wednesday’s through the summer from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. The market, created by the Greater Easton Development Partnership, will sell fresh produce on 12th Street, next to Paxinosa Elementary School.

· Ciao Sandwich Shoppe is adding a second location, this time on College Hill in Easton. Ciao plans to open at 325 Cattell St. in late summer. Ciao already operates in downtown Easton at 12 N. Third St

· Ma’s Crepes and Cakes will hold a grand opening and ribbon-cutting June 16 at 46 W. Broadway, Jim Thorpe. The celebration starts at 5 p.m., with the ribbon cutting at 5:45 p.m. 

· Bethlehem’s Back Door Bakeshop will reopen as a wholesale operation at 7 E. Church St. in the city’s historic district. The business was open for nine years as a retail outlet at Broad and Center streets, before announcing in March that it would close the storefront April 3 and “go back to its origins as a wholesale business.”

·The Beef Baron on Catasauqua Road in Bethlehem is closed indefinitely for renovations

· The Brothers That Just Do Gutters are opening a new location in Allentown at 1302 N. 18th St.

· St. John Chrysostom Academy, an Orthodox school serving grades 1-9 starting this fall, held a grand opening at its St. Francis Center, Bethlehem, campus.

· Easton Commons, a shopping center anchored by Giant Foods at 2920 Easton Ave., Bethlehem Township, has a new name: The Shops at Bethlehem.

· Carbon County is getting a taste of Brazil at Uai Brasil BBQ at 315 Lehigh Ave. in Palmerton.

· The Keystone Pub in Bethlehem Township, at 3259 Easton Avenue, has reopened after a lengthy and expensive renovation. 

· The Trading Post Depot opened at 401 Northampton St., Easton. The rustic furniture store makes custom tables for dining rooms, desktops, conference centers and more.

· The Easton area has a new gym: Homemade Fitness at 444 Cedarville Road in Williams Township.

· Il Gaetano Ristorante opened at its 665 Columbus Ave., Phillipsburg, location. 

· Ciao! Sandwich Shoppe to open second location on College Hill in Easton, replacing The Kettle Room

· Rene and Grisellies Benique have opened Ezekiel 47 Cafe at 10 S. Fifth Ave., off Fifth and Penn avenues, in West Reading. 

· Alter Ego Salon and Day Spa in Emmaus is holding a grand opening Sunday, May 22, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a ribbon cutting at noon. 

· Origen Latin Fusion has opened at the site of the former Tomcat Cafe in Sinking Spring, Berks County. 

· Sellersville Senior Residences will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony May 24. The Bucks County affordable-housing community for adults 55 and older has 50 apartments, with eight allocated for people with behavioral health needs.

· The House and Barn in Emmaus has opened its Shed outdoor dining and cigar bar area. The House and Barn is at 1449 Chestnut St. in Emmaus.

· Realtor Amanda Vachris and the Schuylkill Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon cutting at Vachris’s new Keller Williams Real Estate office at 15 St. John St., Schuylkill Haven, at 4 p.m. on May 24.

· Il Gaetano Ristorante will hold a grand opening on Friday, May 20, at 5:30 p.m. The 665 Columbus Ave., Phillipsburg.

· First Commonwealth Federal Credit Union will hold a grand opening at its new headquarters in Trexlertown, 6126 Hamilton Blvd., on May 18.

· Vinyl Press Signs & Graphics has relocated within Emmaus. The new site is 15 S. Second St., not far from the former Sixth Street location.

· Pedro’s Cafe in Emmaus to close

· SV Sports (formerly Schuylkill Valley Sports) to close Quakertown location

· Flemington DIY will host a Grand Re-Opening on May 14 at 26 Stangl Road, Flemington. The celebration will kick off at 10 a.m. 

· Elpedio’s Ristorante at Seipsville opened at 2912 Old Nazareth Road in Easton. The restaurant is open Wednesday through Sunday.

· Uai Brazil opened at 315 Lehigh Ave, Palmerton, offering both a seated or buffet option. 

· Colombian Mex Restaurant opened at 107 E Union Blvd in Bethlehem, offering traditional Colombian cuisine. 

· Precision Ink opened at 161 W Berwick St. in Easton. 

· King Wing opened a location in Bethlehem at 129 E. Third St., serving wings and sandwiches.  

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SAN FRANCISCO — A man convicted of murdering his friend in San Francisco more than 30 years ago has been exonerated in a case that authorities said highlighted many issues within the criminal justice system, such as the lengthy amount of time it takes to undo a wrongful conviction , as well as problems associated with using incentivized testimony and the unreliability of cross-racial identifications.

Joaquin Ciria, now 61, was convicted of murder in 1991 in the shooting death a year prior of Felix Bastarrica. At the time, San Francisco police investigators honed in on Ciria as the shooter based on street rumors, questionable witness accounts and statements by the teen getaway driver, George Varela, who knew Ciria and tested — in exchange for immunity — that he drove Ciria to and from the scene.

But Ciria maintained his innocence from the beginning, and no physical evidence linked him to the crime, prosecutors now say. Furthermore, jurors heard no evidence of an alternate suspect and no evidence that Ciria had an alibi, even though two witnesses were willing to testify that he had an alibi.

After an exhaustive review by the San Francisco district attorney’s newly created Innocence Commission, prosecutors on Monday said new evidence presented by Ciria’s attorneys provided what they called “convincing proof” that Ciria was wrongly convicted based on false testimony. It was the first case reviewed by the Innocence Commission since its formation.

“Our office is proud of and grateful for the work of the Innocence Commission in rectifying the wrongful conviction of Mr. Ciria,” Chesa Boudin, the San Francisco district attorney, said in a statement. “Wrongful convictions continue to plague our justice system at great cost to the families, victims, and suspected persons whose lives are devastated when the wrong person is convicted of a crime.”

Boudin thanked the court for correcting what he called a “miscarriage of justice.”

At his trial, jurors heard three eyewitnesses identify Ciria as the shooter. But two witnesses were strangers who made what prosecutors called “cross-racial identifications” at long distances with poor lighting during the late-night shooting.

Furthermore, police placed extreme pressure on the teen getaway driver, a key witness in the case, to identify Ciria as the shooter or face charges himself, authorities said.

Another eyewitness, who was the victim’s best friend and knew all the parties involved, also saw the shooting and identified a different shooter. That witness didn’t testify at Ciria’s trial.

Other witnesses confirmed details that support the new eyewitness’s story, including descriptions of the shooter initially provided by the stranger eyewitnesses that more closely match the alternate suspect than Ciria did.

The driver’s sister and a close family friend said Varela has since admitted Ciria was not the shooter and that he lied at the trial.

Lara Bazelon, chair of the Innocence Commission, said in a statement that the district attorney has a duty to correct what she called intolerable violations when a conviction is a “perversion of justice.”

After the conviction was vacated Monday — 32 years after Ciria’s arrest — prosecutors dismissed the case and Ciria was freed.

Since the National Registry of Exonerations began tracking wrongful convictions in 1989, there have been more than 270 known wrongful convictions in California, prosecutors said. Studies show key contributing factors to these wrongful convictions include mistaken eyewitness identification, false testimony and official misconduct.

Paige Kaneb, supervising attorney at the Northern California Innocence Project, who represented Ciria, said his case — which contained all three contributing factors — highlighted many issues with the criminal justice system and was an example of how people of color aren’t afforded the presumption of innocence.

“Joaquin highlights the indominable nature of the human spirit–32 years were stolen from him and yet he has kept his big heart and easy smile and is full of joy as he looks forward to starting his life again,” she said.

The post Man Exonerated 32 Years After Arrest In San Francisco Killing appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SAN FRANCISCO — Police arrested four people and seized 21 illegal weapons, ammunition and drugs after serving search warrants at two San Francisco homes last week, authorities said Monday.

Federal and local agencies identified social media accounts listing firearms for sale and worked together in the investigation that led to two residences, the San Francisco Police Department and the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office said in statements. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also assisted in the investigation.

Last Tuesday, ATF agents and San Francisco police officers served search warrants and seized 17 guns at a home in the Bay View District and another four at a home in the Southern District.

They also arrested John Sembrano, Kadkda Mean, Kelly Mean and Ryan Chantha on multiple charges including the illegal sale of firearms, being a felon in possession of firearms and being armed while in possession of narcotics.

It wasn’t immediately known if those arrested had retained attorneys who could speak on their behalf.

Investigators later determined that several of the seized firearms were stolen, authorities said.

Chantha and Kakada Mean were scheduled to be arranged Monday. The arrangement for John Sembrano and Kelly Mean is scheduled for Dec. 16, prosecutors said.

“Nationwide, 2021 is on pace to be the worst year for gun violence in decades, according to the Gun Violence Archive — and our own statistics locally show that San Francisco is no exception to the national trend,” San Francisco Chief of Police Bill Scott said.

He added: “This joint operation with our partners at ATF and in the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office will hold these firearms traffickers accountable.”

The post San Francisco police seize 21 unlawful weapons, arrest 4 appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — A female suspect slammed into several cars including a California Highway Patrol vehicle while at the wheel of a stolen Toyota Camry before being arrested after a foot pursuit, authorities said.

The CHP said the incident began early Friday morning when officers were ending a pursuit of a DUI suspect on southbound Highway 101 near Cesar Chavez St.

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As CHP officers were conducting a traffic break, the Camry speeded past both the slow moving traffic and the patrol vehicles on the right shoulder.

The officers immediately initiated a pursuit after the driver failed to pull over and stop. The Camry continued south and exited at Silver Ave., where it collided with the rear of a Nissan Maxima which was stopped at the top of the off-ramp for a red light.

The driver of the Camry then threw the vehicle in reverse and struck the front of the CHP vehicle before taking off again.

The pursuit continued down Silver Ave. towards Mission St. After circling around several blocks, the Camry collided with a Jaguar near Silver Ave. and Mission St., causing the Camry to be disabled in the road.

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The female driver of the Camry attempted to flee on foot but was quickly detained without incident.

Once she was in custody, the officers learned soon that she recently had been released from custody for similar offenses and was out on supervised probation with an ankle monitor.

Investigators also determined the Camry was an unreported stolen vehicle.

The driver of the Nissan involved in the initial collision on the Silver Ave. off-ramp was determined to be under the influence and subsequently arrested for DUI.

The driver of the Jaguar was uninjured and there were no injuries to the CHP officers.

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The female suspect was arrested for multiple charges, including DUI, felony evading, driving a stolen vehicle, and a probation hold was also initiated to retain her in custody.

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