16-year-old boy arrested for assault, robbery of SF Chinatown store owner
SF Chinatown shop owner says encounter with repeat shoplifter has escalated into violence
Fanly Chen, the owner of GoApple.co, was robbed and attacked Saturday at her store located on the 900 block of Grant Avenue in the heart of San Francisco's Chinatown. She says it's a recurring problem and that she's seen the suspect who used pepper spray on her before.
SAN FRANCISCO - A 16-year-old boy was arrested Tuesday in connection to a robbery and assault of a shop owner in San Francisco's Chinatown over the weekend, police say.
On Saturday May 15, at around noon, police said the suspect stole several smart phone cases from a store on the 900 block of Grant Avenue. When the shop's owner tried to stop the suspect, he allegedly assaulted the 44-year-old woman, striking her in the face.
Later the same day, around the shop's closing time, the suspect returned to the store and sprayed the merchant with an irritant in her eyes and face. The woman was taken to the hospital for treatment and was later released.
KTVU spoke with Fanly Chen, who owns the GoApple.co store earlier this week. She shared surveillance video of the incident. She said she was left scared and has become frustrated with the ongoing thefts in the area. She also said the suspect was someone she had recognized and that he tried to return the stolen items he had taken from her store.
"You have to pay first. If you go, I call police," Chen told the suspect. "He said call police, I don't care."
SFPD Central Station officers have increased patrols in the area. On Tuesday, police investigators, who were looking at surveillance video, said they recognized the juvenile suspect as a resident of the neighborhood.
That same day, police went to the suspect's residence and met him and a parent. The suspect's name is not being released because he is a minor. He was arrested and booked into the Juvenile Justice Center on charges of robbery, assault with a caustic chemical and battery.