A San Francisco woman was convicted and sentenced to two years in state prison in connection with a series of organized retail crimes, the city’s district attorney announced March 22.
Savannah Church, 25, pleaded guilty in San Francisco Superior Court to assault, two counts of organized retail theft, and one count of petty theft.
She was also ordered to pay nearly $44,000 in restitution.
Police arrested Ms. Church, along with three juveniles, on Sept. 30 after a 63-year-old man reported multiple suspects attempting to rob someone on the street in the city’s Tenderloin District, a high-crime area favored by drug users near Union Square, on Aug. 10, 2023.
The man tried to intervene and defend the robbery victim but was kicked and beaten by two females, according to a police report. He suffered serious injuries and was taken to a hospital where he was treated and released.
On Sept. 15, an officer working in the Tenderloin District said he witnessed one of the suspects near 7th and Market streets. The suspect was detained and identified as Ms. Church, who was arrested and taken to county jail for battery and resisting arrest.
As the investigation continued into the assault, detectives were able to connect Ms. Church to 10 organized retail thefts totaling $44,000 in stolen merchandise, according to the San Francisco Police Department.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said she is working with victims, businesses, and law enforcement to make progress in retail crime theft.
“Organized retail theft is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in San Francisco,” said Ms. Jenkins.
In Ms. Church’s case, prosecutors claimed she was part of an organized group that committed the snatch-and-grab thefts at Walgreens, Sephora, and Bath and Body Works stores in San Francisco from April 23, 2023, through Sept. 15, 2023.
Authorities say Ms. Church and others entered the stores as a group, quickly grabbing and concealing merchandise before exiting the stores without any attempt to pay.
Prosecutors also alleged that Ms. Church assaulted one person who tried to stop her from robbing someone on the street.
Ms. Church has remained in custody since her arrest.
