A man arrested after allegedly attacking a woman as she entered her condominium building in San Francisco earlier this month is also accused of a separate assault in February, police said Monday.
Austin James Vincent, 25, surrendered on a $100,000 arrest warrant when he appeared in court Monday for the Aug. 11 assault at the front door of a Beale Street condo building.
Video of the attack has been shared widely on social media and in news outlets, and the victim from a Feb. 4 assault near Fourth and Brannan streets called police after she saw Vincent's jail booking photo on the news and recognized him as her alleged attacker.
Investigators learned the victim and several friends encountered Vincent while they waited for a vehicle from a ride-hailing app. Vincent, armed with a knife, allegedly threatened to kill the victim and her friends, who ran to the ride-hailing vehicle and eventually left the city, police said.
On Saturday, police also began investigations into two other cases elsewhere in the city and are working to determine if Vincent was involved with them after the victims in those cases came forward after also seeing his photo.
Vincent's attorneys have arranged for him to surrender at his court appearance Monday morning for the warrant related to the February attack.
Supervisor Matt Haney released a statement about the case late Monday.
Local
"I am grateful that Mr. Vincent was apprehended and will be held accountable for his crimes. People with serious mental health needs should not be released back onto the street without adequate treatment or services. The current situation, which fails to respond immediately and effectively to people with mental illness, is completely unacceptable.
"It’s a terrible failure I am working hard to solve with universal mental health and substance use treatment. I am also working proactively everyday with SFPD and city agencies to implement effective solutions to protect public safety, and implement street outreach and safety teams in the neighborhood."
