San Bruno man charged for year of auto burglaries

A San Bruno man was charged Monday with 20 counts related to an auto burglary spree between 2016 and 2017, San Francisco prosecutors said.

Deshawn Patton, 21, was booked into San Francisco County Jail on $625,000 bail.

He was charged with nine misdemeanors, including two counts of receiving stolen property, one count of possession of a burglary tool, one count of unauthorized use of radio communication, three counts of resisting police officers, one count of theft and one count of hit-and-run causing property damage.

The alleged crimes happened between April 12, 2016 and May 18, 2017, according to the district attorney’s office.

Prosecutors said six of eight victims were from out of town and six of the eight victim vehicles were rental cars. The victims were visiting San Francisco from Los Angeles, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Rhode Island, China and Germany.

Police said officers attempted to arrest Patton on four separate occasions but Patton fled each time by ramming a police car, ramming a victim vehicle that he had burglarized or running away.

District Attorney George Gascon said:

“We’re working closely with the Police Department to identify and disrupt the most prolific auto burglary rings.”

Patton will be arraigned Tuesday morning in San Francisco Superior Court.

As part of a crackdown on auto burglary suspects, Gascon said his office is sponsoring Senate Bill 916 to close legal loopholes for people who break into vehicles.

The office has also introduced a private camera registry to get help from the public after auto burglaries.