SFPD Arrest Suspects for Taraval District Armed Robbery & Sexual Assault

Phillip Hill Jr.                                   Joseph Hill

On February 28, 2016 at 7:45PM, Officers from Taraval Police Station responded to a robbery call on the 1600 block of 34^th Avenue.  Officers arrived within minutes of receiving the call and obtained descriptions of the suspects from the victim, a 21 year old female. This information was relayed to other officers via police radio and officers from multiple police districts began the search for the suspects.  The victim reported that two male suspects, both wearing hoodies and one with a mask covering part of his face robbed her of her purse and other personal items.  The victim further stated that at least one of the suspects was armed with a handgun.

While in the area of Noriega and 31^st Avenue, members of the Taraval Station plainclothes team spotted the suspects in a silver Ford sedan and they began to follow the car. As the officers followed, they relayed their direction of travel via police radio including information that the suspects were tossing items from the car as they made multiple turns. The suspects then accelerated and began running stop signs as they attempted to evade the officers following behind.  A marked San Francisco Police unit initiated a pursuit of the suspect vehicle which continued to the area of Moraga and 20^th Avenue where they turned on to Shriners Avenue.  Units from the Taraval, Richmond and Ingleside Police Districts responded to the scene to provide assistance.  The suspects stopped the car on the 1700 block of Shriners and fled on foot.

Officers quickly apprehended one suspect, identified as Joseph Hill, male, 22 of Vallejo. The second suspect, Phillip Hill, Jr., male, 22, of Fairfield was found hiding underneath a parked car and was taken into custody.  The arresting officer initially noticed a handgun on the driveway near this parked car and then saw Phillip Hill hiding under the vehicle.

While searching the arrest scene, officers located a second hand gun in nearby shrubs.  Additional officers retraced the route taken by the suspects and recovered the victims cell phone along with other items stolen during the robbery.

During the course of the investigation, the victim identified the suspects and provided further details of the incident including information that, during the robbery, one of the suspects physically restrained her while the other pointed a gun at her head. Following the robbery, one of the suspects sexually assaulted the victim before the two suspects fled the scene.

Joseph Hill was booked into San Francisco County Jail on the following charges: robbery, conspiracy, false imprisonment, possession of stolen property, resisting or delaying a peace officer, carrying a concealed firearm, carrying a loaded firearm with the intent to commit a felony, carrying a loaded firearm in public, convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

Phillip Hill, Jr. was booked into San Francisco County Jail on the following charges: robbery, conspiracy, false imprisonment, carrying a concealed firearm, carrying a loaded firearm with the intent to commit a felony, carrying a loaded firearm in public, carrying a firearm in public while wearing a mask, attempted sexual penetration, sexual battery, recklessly evading a peace officer, and being an unlicensed driver.

Both Joseph and Phillip Hill are also linked to armed robberies in the East Bay. Joseph Hill was also identified for a second armed robbery with a sawed off rifle in San Francisco’s Ingleside District. The victim in the Ingleside robbery positively identified the sawed of rifle that was recovered during the investigation. Photo of the rifle is attached.

A .32 Caliber semi-automatic pistol and a 9mm semi-automatic pistol were recovered during the arrest. The .32 Caliber pistol had bullets in the magazine, and the 9mm pistol had a round in the chamber and the hammer was cocked back.