The South of Market neighborhood's queer businesses are among those battling burglary, break-ins, and attempted break-ins over the past few months. The incidents have prompted speculation that they are from the same or related groups of organized thieves.
Simi Grewal, a gay and queer woman and sommelier who is co-owner of DECANTsf wine shop at 1168 Folsom Street, told the Bay Area Reporter in a recent phone interview about two alleged thefts in a two-day period over the summer. Oasis, an LGBTQ nightclub, reported an armed robbery in July, and the Stud and Powerhouse LGBTQ bars have reported attempted break-ins.
"Three incredibly large guys around 8 o'clock pretended they were looking for tequila. We don't sell liquor," Grewal said, recalling the June 1 incident. "They basically kind of went to different parts of the store and started taking items off the shelves. One of them even went behind the bar."
The three stole almost $1,000 in merchandise. Grewal said her business partner, Cara Patricia, had to go to the police station to file a report June 2 on the June 1 incident because officers didn't respond, citing a "concert in the Civic Center," she said. (There was a Skrillex rave at Civic Center Plaza.)
"The cops even told us they identified them as folks who were doing similar things around the Bay," Grewal said.
Then, as Patricia was returning to DECANTsf from the police station, there was another theft, Grewal said. This time, someone came in and took alcohol without paying. Officers did respond to the June 2 incident, and staff filed a police report on that matter.
San Francisco Police Department Public Information Officer Paulina Henderson confirmed this account in a statement to the B.A.R., which noted that on June 2 around 4 p.m. "a reporting victim came into Southern station to file a report regarding a burglary of a business located on the 1100 block of Folsom Street."
"Officers were advised that several suspects entered the business on 06/01/2024 at approximately 8:50 p.m. and stole store merchandise prior to fleeing the scene," Henderson stated. "Through the course of the investigation, two adult males were identified in their involvement in the above-mentioned crime and other organized retail crimes by investigators. The suspects were booked into custody for their arrest warrants."
The two Oakland residents were arrested for the out-of-county charges. Clarence Labor Loftin, 30, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree robbery and on suspicion of two counts of second-degree burglary and is in custody in Alameda County. John Fitzgerald Stroman Jr., 32, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree robbery, second-degree burglary, and grand theft, and is in custody in Contra Costa County.
The San Francisco Public Defender's office and the San Francisco District Attorney's office didn't return requests for comment for this report as of press time. DA Brooke Jenkins filed charges against Stroman, whose case is making its way through the San Francisco courts.
Grewal said she feels police response times in the SOMA neighborhood are too slow.
"You go to North Beach and there are cops eating pizza on the corner, so clearly there are cops, but we can't get people to show up when you call 911," she said.
Business owners in their section of SOMA are thinking of starting a merchants association to advocate for their interests with the city government and with the SFPD, Grewal told the B.A.R. (There already is the South of Market Business Association that covers the entire neighborhood, which didn't return a request for comment.)
"City Hall is very grudgingly listening to us," she said. "Our precinct captain, Luke Martin, is good at trying to help. ... The top doesn't seem to care about SOMA. I was talking with the chief of police [William Scott] and I spoke to him asking, 'What is it going to take?' ... I felt that boilerplate, 'We're working on it.'"
A spokesperson for Scott didn't return a request for comment.
Gay District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey, who represents SOMA on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, used to be head of strategic communications for the SFPD. He told the B.A.R. in a phone interview he understands Grewal's concerns and those of other SOMA business owners. Dorsey framed the issue in terms of the police staffing shortage that's affecting the entire city and the epidemic of commercial robberies throughout the Bay Area.
"I know there is frustration with the police response. In fairness, I don't think the police department is being neglectful or lazy, I think the issue is the police staffing issues I've been working hard to fix," Dorsey said. "The department is getting run ragged and that does empower a kind of category of crime, like organized retail theft and burglary operations, to thrive."
The SFPD has a shortfall of about 500 officers — and 450 more will be eligible for retirement by 2030. Scott and Mayor London Breed announced last week that the SFPD welcomed its largest police academy class since 2018, which has 50 recruits.
"I'm excited to see so much interest from new recruits wanting to serve their community in this noble profession," Scott stated in a news release. "They will join a force of extraordinary officers who are doing a tremendous job fighting crime and keeping the public safe in San Francisco. I want to thank Mayor Breed for making police staffing a top priority and getting our department back on track following an unprecedented national policing crisis."
Breed touted "significant investments we are making and the reforms to our hiring process."
"A fully staffed police force is key to our public safety strategy, but it's not the only piece," she stated. "We're also deploying new technology, using alternatives to policing to free up resources, and investing in violence prevention and community building. I'm grateful for these newest additions to our police force, and to all those who are serving today."
As the B.A.R. previously reported the police academy class of 12 officers that graduated on September 5 of this year had been the largest since 2019 until this month.
Dorsey is promoting Proposition F on the November ballot as a way to stem the tide of a depleted police force. Prop F would give eligible officers the ability to defer retirement and continue working in neighborhood policing roles or helping with investigations. Their retirement benefits would be placed in a tax-deferred interest-bearing account, which they would collect upon retirement.
"I think that will make a difference," Dorsey said.
Meanwhile, he is also supportive of a new merchants association covering the section of SOMA where DECANTsf is located.
"I am aware there are folks considering a merchants association," he said. "I think that'd be a great idea. ... My observation is it's just a better way to engage and be involved with city government. I often find myself in a position where I'm competing with 10 other supervisors for limited city resources, so having merchant organizations shoulder to shoulder with me on that can be really helpful."
Dorsey said that in his experience, there are two major kinds of retail theft in the Bay Area.
"There is the kind of low-level, addiction-driven, random kinds of break-ins and retail thefts," Dorsey said. "Then there's a kind that is highly sophisticated and highly organized and aware of where there are vulnerabilities and how to exploit those that can play out in everything from burglaries to catalytic converter thefts and organized retail theft episodes. ... The crews or organized gangs — that is a real phenomenon and part of the reason the state gave us funding for license plate readers, because a lot of these gangs operate in the multiple-county Bay Area."
The state's Organized Retail Theft Grant Program provided San Francisco $17.3 million in September 2023 for license plate readers at over 100 intersections. Those readers are being installed, and Mayor London Breed has touted their effectiveness. She said at a June news conference that over 100 license plate readers had been installed so far.
"We've made arrests," she said at the time.
Other businesses hit
Meanwhile, DECANTsf is not alone in SOMA — as the B.A.R. reported July 19, the drag nightclub Oasis was the victim of a robbery, according to its owner San Francisco drag laureate D'Arcy Drollinger. The club's cleaning crew was robbed of their wallets and cell phones by four armed gunmen, according to Drollinger.
Nate Allbee, a co-owner of the SOMA bar The Stud, told the B.A.R. that the 1123 Folsom Street establishment has "been lucky."
Nonetheless, "we had to redo one of our windows," he said, after "someone was trying to knock it out" in early September.
"We are very careful but there's not anything you can do about it — you just got to hope and pray," he said. "There's a particular group of people targeting bars because they know they can."
The Stud didn't file a police report about the incident, but Powerhouse, a few blocks west at 1347 Folsom Street, did after someone tried to break into their establishment on August 23. Powerhouse general manager Scott Richard Peterson told the B.A.R. that there was some damage on the bar's door.
"They just put a hole in our door with a sledge hammer," Peterson stated. "Neighbors interrupted and they drove off." Peterson believes the same people later that Friday targeted Mars bar at 978 Brannan Street, which the owner reported was burglarized August 23.
Mars didn't return the B.A.R.'s requests for comment, but owner David Kiely told KRON-TV that burglars "came in, broke open the front doors, stole the ATM and two cash registers and they were out the door." Kiley also alleged it was the same crew that had targeted Powerhouse, as it was the same morning.
SFPD's Henderson stated to the B.A.R. that officers responded to Powerhouse at 4:56 a.m. that morning.
"Officers arrived on scene and observed damages to the door of the business," she stated. "Officers were advised that suspects attempted to break into a business and fled in a vehicle. Officers conducted a walkthrough and did not locate any subjects inside the premises nor observed any damages inside the business. There were no reports of items stolen at this time."
On all the investigations mentioned in this report, even the DECANTsf case where there's been an arrest, anyone with information is asked to contact the SFPD at (415) 575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with SFPD. Tipsters may remain anonymous.
Never miss a story! Keep up to date on the latest news, arts, politics, entertainment, and nightlife.
Sign up for the Bay Area Reporter's free weekday email newsletter. You'll receive our newsletters and special offers from our community partners.
Support California's largest LGBTQ newsroom. Your one-time, monthly, or annual contribution advocates for LGBTQ communities. Amplify a trusted voice providing news, information, and cultural coverage to all members of our community, regardless of their ability to pay -- Donate today!