Police arrest San Francisco Chinatown pickpocket crew suspects

Three people suspecting in a series of pickpocket crimes in San Francisco's Chinatown were arrested over the weekend after a weeks-long investigation, police said Tuesday. 

The San Francisco Police Department said in a press release that it received reports from members of the Chinatown community and local merchants about multiple pickpocket and thefts across the neighborhood since early last month, including one victim who lost approximately $4,000 in property. 

After a weeks-long investigation, patrol officers working with community members identified a suspect vehicle and three people believed tied to the thefts, police said.

On Saturday,  police used automated license plate reader cameras and a police drone to track the vehicle and suspects within Chinatown. Video provided by the Police Department showed drone footage of the suspects stealing from victims as they walked on the sidewalk, working together as one person would take personal items from backpacks or purses while two other would block the view and act as lookouts.

Plainclothes officers arrested all three suspects, and during the operation, officers also recovered the stolen property and returned it to the victims, police said. 

The suspects were identified as Vallejo residents Stefan Ruset, 35; Marian Constantine, 30; and Florin Matei, 26. On Sunday, officers executed a search warrant at their home in Vallejo and recovered additional stolen property, including property linked to a 2024 pickpocket victim, along with more than $14,000 in cash, police said.

"Criminals targeting Chinatown, or any other community in San Francisco, is simply unacceptable," said Police Chief Derrick Lew in a prepared statement. "I want to thank members of the Central Station for their continued partnership with the merchants to demonstrate the highest level of community policing that keeps our city and Chinatown safe."

On Wednesday, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said all three men were being charged with one felony count of grand theft, three misdemeanor counts of grand theft, and one count of possession of stolen property. If convicted, they face a maximum of between three and four years in prison, Jenkins said.

Each were scheduled to be arraigned on Wednesday afternoon. 

Police asked anyone with information about the pickpocket thefts to call 415-575-4444 or send a text to TIP411 and begin the message with SFPD.