2 alleged robbers caught for snatch-and-grab theft in San Mateo County

“We need to protect the public and take these types of people off the street and we have no tolerance for gang robbery and we will be harsh,” Wagstaffe said.

On Jan. 17, Pagano drove out to Skylawn Cemetery near the entrance of the Fifield-Cahill Ridge, west of Crystal Springs Reservoir. He said he was a victim of a strong arm robbery while he was preparing to grab his camera from the trunk of his car.

“I was going to photograph this sparrow hawk who just caught a mouse. I said, ‘that’s a good kind of action shot’ and I was looking through a bush and I think that’s when the white Honda first passed by me,” Pagano previously said.

While Pagano pulled over to scout the wild bird for a photograph he suspects he was being scouted by the men as they passed his vehicle and turned around to get him, he said. Pagano frequents the trail and said it’s generally a peaceful and quiet area, typically occupied by hikers and park rangers. The robbery occurred when Pagano was about to let his dog out of the car and noticed a white Honda sedan approaching him. A tall, slender man wearing a black mask appeared to be running toward him with his arms out. The perpetrator grabbed the black camera bag from Pagano’s hands. Pagano tried to fight him off but the perpetrator overpowered him, he said.

“What are you doing, this is my livelihood,” Pagano said he yelled at the man, who wrestled with him before throwing Pagano to the ground, scuffing his hands and muddying his pants leaving him on the ground, shocked and without his camera and equipment. The robbery happened within minutes, he said.

He suspects the men followed him to the cemetery from Cañada Road near the Pulgas Water Temple. Pagano said the entire experience was traumatizing but he’s happy to hear they are off the street.

“It’s a remote location. Nobody goes out there, so they must have followed me,” Pagano said.

The two defendants were placed at the scene of the crime after a San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office-Millbrae division’s investigation led them to identify the vehicle from a nearby license plate reader camera, according to the DA’s Office.

“This case goes unsolved if it wasn’t for the license plate readers,” Wagstaffe said.

Two days later, a Pittsburgh Police Department officer stopped the vehicle and located Bender in the driver’s seat of the vehicle he allegedly used to flee the scene. A few days later, text messages discussing burglaries, robberies and camera equipment between Goncalves and Bender were found by San Francisco Police Officers who located Goncalves. Both were traced back to the cemetery at the time of the crime, Goncalves through his phone records and Bender by an ankle monitor. Both defendants are alleged gang members in San Francisco, according to the DA’s Office.

“This is victimizing innocent [people] and we are always going to treat that without leniency,” said Wagstaffe, emphasizing that the DA’s Office has zero tolerance for gang related robberies that victimize innocent people.

Both defendants were appointed public defense attorneys. For Bender, this is a possible third strike case, and he remains in custody with no bail. His attorney’s motion to further the arraignment a week was granted and a date was set for April 3.

Goncalves pleaded not guilty to all charges. His preliminary hearing is set for April 10. He remains in custody on $175,000 bail, according to the DA’s Office.

“Unfortunately I didn’t get my stuff back but that’s OK. At least they won’t get a chance to victimize anybody else,” Pagano said. “I wanted them off the street. These are bad dudes, they scared me.”