Get SF Weekly Newsletters

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Accused MacBook Thief Busted After Video of Crime Goes Viral

Posted By on Tue, Apr 8, 2014 at 9:21 AM

click to enlarge Paul Raynal - SFPD
  • SFPD
  • Paul Raynal

San Francisco police say they've nabbed the woman who was seen in a video snatching a Macbook computer from a local coffee shop.

The video went viral yesterday after SF Citizen and SF Weekly posted the video, showing a blonde woman stealing the computer from a downtown coffee shop. The victim, a software developer, was able to retrieve the surveillance from the coffee shop and posted it on her tumblr page.

On Monday at about 2:30 p.m., police got a call about a suspicious woman at a Starbucks on Clay Street. "An employee at another coffee shop actually saw the video on SF Weekly regarding the laptop theft incident and noticed this person matching the description was in her coffee shop," Officer Gordon Shyy tells us.

Officers arrived at the Starbucks where the suspect -- identified as 32-year-old Paul Raynal -- allegedly tried to pass off a false identity to the cops. However, police say she was wearing the same outfit she had on in the theft video. Also, they found some stolen property on her, so they hauled her down to the station and booked her on a litany of charges, including burglary, possession of stolen property, and attempting to use someone else's identification, Shyy says. She also had a warrant for her arrest for a parole violation.

Shyy says she had not taken anything from the Starbucks yesterday, and could not say whether she was there to commit a crime. "It's a crime of opportunity," he says. "She may have just wanted a Grande Latte."

Mugshot is coming. Until then, enjoy this:


  • Pin It

About The Author

Erin Sherbert

Erin Sherbert

Bio:
Erin Sherbert was the Online News Editor for SF Weekly from 2010 to 2015. She's a Texas native and has a closet full of cowboy boots to prove it.

Comments


Comments are closed.

Popular Stories

  1. Most Popular Stories
  2. Stories You Missed

Like us on Facebook

Slideshows

  • clipping at Brava Theater Sept. 11
    Sub Pop recording artists 'clipping.' brought their brand of noise-driven experimental hip hop to the closing night of 2016's San Francisco Electronic Music Fest this past Sunday. The packed Brava Theater hosted an initially seated crowd that ended the night jumping and dancing against the front of the stage. The trio performed a set focused on their recently released Sci-Fi Horror concept album, 'Splendor & Misery', then delved into their dancier and more aggressive back catalogue, and recent single 'Wriggle'. Opening performances included local experimental electronic duo 'Tujurikkuja' and computer music artist 'Madalyn Merkey.'"