San Francisco cinematographer hit twice by burglars
Thieves strike cinematographer's Bernal Heights home twice
A San Francisco cinematographer says he was hit twice by the same burglars who stole $32,000 in production gear stored in his garage. Surveillance video shows a green Subaru Outback smashing into the garage in Bernal Heights in broad daylight.
SAN FRANCISCO - A San Francisco cinematographer says he was hit twice by the same burglars who stole $32,000 in production gear stored in his garage.
Surveillance video shows a green Subaru Outback smashing into the garage in Bernal Heights in broad daylight.
A man then gets out.
But it was no accident. Just moments earlier, "you can see it pull into the driveway and just kind of line itself up before they just - they go all in," says the victim, Alex Cruzvergara.
"It's very frustrating," he said.
It happened at about 5:30 p.m. Friday on Franconia Street. Cruzvergara says the driver knew exactly what he was doing.
"They smashed into my garage door, pushing it in, creating a little bit of a gap for them to crawl through. They back out and they just so casually walk into my garage," Cruzvergara said.
It didn't seem to matter that there were people around, including someone walking a dog.
"There was neighbors around. There were cars waiting to get by their car parked in the roadway and they just didn't seem to mind that at all," Cruzvergara said.
But he says it's not the first time these intruders were at the house.
The first break-in happened two weeks earlier around midnight.
Surveillance video shows what appears to be a Subaru similarly creeping up to the house before two men get out.
The next morning, a neighbor called saying Cruzvergara's garage door was wide open.
"She said it looked like my garage was empty. I came out to find that I'd been cleaned out," said Cruzvergara, adding he no idea how they opened the door.
During this first break-in, the thieves stole lights, tripods, carts and other production gear worth $25,000.
And when they returned a few days ago, they stole more property worth $7,000.
"It was equipment that they couldn't fit in the car the first time," Cruzvergara said ruefully.
"They're not worried about the consequences to their actions - they're not. And what does that say about the city?" he asked.
But the story doesn't end there.
On Sunday, Cruzvergara was driving back home when he saw the same Subaru in the neighborhood. He followed it from a safe distance. SFPD later found it abandoned.
Police say they are investigating whether the incidents are related. Cruzvergara says the Subaru in question was stolen and had stolen plates and was impounded. No arrests have been made.