3 armed robberies rattle SF’s Mission District and Noe Valley

Two men were arrested on suspicion of robbing three businesses in the Mission District and Noe Valley, including one that appears to be Happy Donuts on 24th Street, at gunpoint, officials said Tuesday.

The men, ages 32 and 33, were booked into San Francisco County Jail on Oct. 5 and could face a slew of charges, including kidnapping, assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment, use of a firearm during a felony and criminal conspiracy, according to Officer Eve Laokwansathitaya, a spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department. 

SFPD announced the arrest on Oct. 5 on social media but didn’t provide details on the robberies and the arrests until Tuesday.

The robberies occurred between Sept. 26 and Oct. 4 at businesses on the 3800 block of 24th Street, on the 2200 block of Bryant Street and on the 2100 Block of Mission Street, Laokwansathitaya wrote in an email.

The armed suspects stormed into the businesses, forcing workers onto the floor or into back rooms, the police said. “In two of the robberies, the suspects pistol whipped the victims,” Laokwansathitaya said in an emailed statement. The suspects allegedly stole cash and merchandise at all three businesses; they ran off with the ATM machine at Happy Donuts and one of the other businesses. KRON-TV reported that one of the suspects took money from the pockets of the baker at the doughnut shop. 

The Oct. 2 robbery of Happy Donuts caught the attention of the community, and residents poured into the eatery that opened over 40 years ago to buy doughnuts and boost business, SFGATE reported previously. 

Police took the suspects into custody on Oct. 4 after spotting their vehicle parked in SF’s Portola neighborhood near Silver and San Bruno avenues. One of the suspects had a short-barreled rifle used in the crimes in his possession, Laokwansathitaya wrote. With a search warrant, police located two pistols and merchandise stolen in the robberies at one of the suspect’s homes.