Oakland muggers nabbed
in San Francisco

BART escape route foiled by police

By Adam Martin, Bay City News Service

March 2, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) - San Francisco police have arrested two Oakland men in connection with a string of robberies in the city's Hayes Valley and South of Market neighborhoods.

Lloyd Darn, 20, and Matthew Webber, 18, both of West Oakland, were taken into custody on Feb. 22 after they allegedly robbed a man near Mission and Ninth streets, said San Francisco police Lt. John Loftus, who heads the department's robbery division.

The two are suspected of robbing four different people within 10 minutes in Hayes Valley around 9 p.m. Feb. 21. They allegedly used a gun and a knife to threaten victims, who surrendered about $20 to $40 each. On Feb. 22, the robbers allegedly struck again, Loftus said.

A 42-year-old man was walking north on Ninth Street when the two suspects grabbed him and threw him against a wall, Loftus said. One of the suspects allegedly brandished a box cutter or knife and demanded the man's money. The man surrendered his checkbook, which the suspects took as they ran off, but they threw it back at him when they discovered it did not contain any cash, Loftus said.

Just after the robbery, the victim flagged down police Sgt. James Seim, who put the man in his patrol car and set off to find the suspects, Loftus said. When they saw Darn running north on Ninth Street toward Market Street, Seim radioed for backup and he was arrested.

Police arrested Webber in the Civic Center Bay Area Rapid Transit station, Loftus said.

"Frequently that's one of the places these guys will run. If (police) respond to an area and there's a BART station nearby they'll normally search that because it's a great way to get you out of sight,'' Loftus said.

Further investigation connected the two men with the previous day's crimes, and they were each charged with five counts of robbery, Loftus said. They face three to five years in prison for each robbery count if they are tried and convicted.

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