Two arrested connected to scooter theft

Two of three suspects have been arrested in connection with the burglary Saturday of the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s San Francisco office, in which numerous items were stolen including a scooter donated by San Francisco Giants outfielder Hunter Pence, police said today.

Judd Janke, 37, and Nicholas Tiller, 26, were both arrested around 6:30 p.m. Monday in the 400 block of Market Street, according to police.

Janke was arrested on suspicion of burglary, conspiracy, false impersonation, possession of narcotics and possession of burglary tools.

Tiller was arrested on suspicion of possession of narcotics, burglary, possession of burglary tools and probation violation, police said.

A third unidentified suspect remains at large and police are actively seeking the suspect.

Investigators identified the suspects after reviewing surveillance video from the burglary. The trio has been linked to a series of other burglaries in the area, according to police.

After serving search warrants in the area of Fourth Street, officers were able to recover the stolen battery-powered scooter, which was an autographed black model with orange decals of Pence’s name and his jersey number 8, police said.

Pence acquired the scooter shortly after joining the Giants in 2012 and donated it to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The scooter was sold at auction last year for $40,000, but the charity has been holding it in the office for the purchaser, according to the organization.

During the burglary of the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s office, located at 55 Hawthorne St., the suspects also allegedly took a backpack worth around $350 that had been donated for an upcoming charity auction, as well as some iPad minis, laptops, gift cards and a personal backpack.

During a visit Tuesday morning to the organization’s office, Mayor Ed Lee donated eight iPad minis to replace the eight that were stolen.

Saturday’s burglary is not the first time the Make-A-Wish Foundation office has been broken into, and it is not the first time the scooter has been stolen.

The scooter was stolen from the front of Epic Roasthouse on The Embarcadero in May 2014 after Pence left it parked there unlocked. It was returned safely a few days later after extensive publicity about the theft.