Wellness Center theft suspect arrested again

By Alex EmslieThe Guardsman

A San Francisco man charged with  recent thefts at the Ocean campus Wellness Center was arrested again for  an unrelated April 2 robbery allegedly committed just nine days after  he was granted supervised pre-trial release.

Maifala Tusi, 23,  was arraigned April 6 on charges of robbery and felony possession of  stolen property in connection to the theft of a laptop computer and  iPhone from a 41-year-old man, according to a San Francisco District  Attorney’s Office media release.

Those charges will be added to  the four Tusi faces from the Wellness Center thefts and another burglary  charge in Millbrae.

Assistant District Attorney Brian Buckelew  said Tusi was released without bail, over the objections of the District  Attorney’s office, following the Wellness Center arrest.

“We  asked for bail to be set at $55,000 and the court released him,” he said  about the charges. “There’s only so much we can do. The court makes the  ultimate decision.”

Buckelew said there is reason to believe  Tusi could commit another felony if released again, but with bail now  set at $125,000 release is likely cost-prohibitive. To be released on  bail Tusi would have to pay a bondsman a 10 percent, nonrefundable  premium or pay the full bail amount himself.

“If you’re robbing  people for iPhones, you probably don’t have an extra $12,500 lying  around,” Buckelew said.

Stolen iPhone tracked
A man  approached the victim at Van Ness Avenue and Oak Street then snatched  his laptop, according to the media release. The victim chased, tackled  and wrestled with the robber, dropping his iPhone during the scuffle.

A  second man appeared and grabbed the iPhone while the first took the  laptop. Both men jumped into a Lexus and fled the scene.

The  victim told San Francisco police officers he could track his iPhone with  a computer application that locates the phone’s GPS. The GPS  information led police to Alice Griffith “Double Rock” Public Housing in  the Bayview district where they spotted a parked Lexus and waited.

Tusi  and Jerome J. Satele, 21, drove away in the Lexus about one hour later.  The car was later pulled over by police, who saw Satele pass an iPhone  to another passenger.

The victim was brought to 6th Street and  Clara Alley where he identified Tusi, who is more than six feet tall and  weighs 400 pounds, as the robber of his laptop. He identified Satele as  the driver of the getaway car and the man who stole his iPhone.

Satele  is not known to have any connection to the Wellness Center thefts,  Buckelew said.

Nine days out of custody
From the time  he secured supervised pre-trial release to the day of the iPhone arrest,  Tusi had been out of police custody for only nine days, according to  the media release.

“I’m not shocked,” Ingleside Station SFPD Sgt.  James Miller said. “Judges let a lot of people out on low bail or no  bail. I sometimes disagree with the system, but that’s the way it goes.”

Undercover  officers from the Ingleside station assisted City College police in a  sting operation that led to Tusi’s arrest on March 19.

“Private  property crimes in San Francisco are undervalued by the criminal justice  system,” Miller said. “I’m not saying that all these guys should be  sent off to a state prison, by any means, but neither do I think they  should walk out of jail the next day automatically. It happens too  often.”

City College Police Department Sgt. Ted Russo said thefts  in the Wellness Center locker rooms have dropped dramatically since  Tusi’s March 19 arrest.

“Am I surprised that he was released and  then committed another felony? Unfortunately, I’m not surprised,” Russo  said. “There are a lot of issues with overcrowding in jails and the  economy is so bad that people who are opportunists are looking for  things to take. We advise students to keep an eye on their personal  belongings.”

On-campus thefts usually decline after spring break  and pick up again during finals, Russo said. He advised students to be  extra vigilant at the end of the semester.