Man accused of Beale Street attack named as suspect in separate assault

San Francisco police say 25-year old Austin James Vincent, a suspect in the attack of a woman near the Embarcadero earlier this month, will surrender himself to police on a $100,000 arrest warrant when he appears in court Monday morning in connection with a separate aggravated assault that occurred Feb. 4 near Brannan and Fourth streets.

Vincent has been charged with false imprisonment, two counts of battery and attempted robbery for the Aug. 11 incident where he is allegedly seen in surveillance video attacking a woman who was trying to enter a condominium building on Beale Street. The victim in the Feb. 4 assault recognized Vincent when she saw his booking photo in the news, police said.

The victim contacted police and investigators began looking into to the report.

Police said the victim and several of her friends were waiting for a ride share vehicle when Vincent allegedly made a threat to kill them while advancing toward them with a knife. The victim and her friends were able to secure themselves in the ride share vehicle and left The City without further harm.

Officers responding to the scene were unable to locate the victims and suspect when they arrived.

Based on a lack of criminal history, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Christine Van Aken released Vincent pending trial related to the Aug. 11 attack on the condition he be evaluated by a case manager. After inadvertently seeing video, which was widely disseminated online but not presented to the judge during Vincent’s arraignment hearing, Van Aken later ordered he be placed under GPS monitoring.

The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office issued a statement Sunday to say Vincent is compliance with all court orders, is enrolled in a supportive program and has secured temporary shelter.

Following news of the February assault and warrant, Vincent’s attorney arranged for his surrender in court Monday.

Victims in two other cases have also come forward since seeing Vincent’s booking photo and police are now investigating those incidents as well.

Jerold Chinn

Jerold serves as a reporter and San Francisco Bureau Chief for SFBay covering transportation and occasionally City Hall and the Mayor's Office in San Francisco. His work on transportation has been recognized by the San Francisco Press Club. Born and raised in San Francisco, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism. Jerold previously wrote for the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit, noncommercial news organization. When not reporting, you can find Jerold taking Muni to check out new places to eat in the city.