This past weekend was incredibly gorgeous — one for the books, if we do say so ourselves. Though the sun was beaming down through (mostly) unobstructed skies, the weather tickled with the first hints of winter. Running down the JFK Promenade, we took note to check out the new public lounge; as the youths say, it was, in fact, a vibe… and then some.
Aside from pedestrian strolls through car-free city streets, the weekend also saw the mystery around a stolen 1990s Mercedes-Benz convertible deepen.
(If you weren’t aware of the saga: This past Thursday, landscapers working at a property in Atherton unearthed a car buried four to five feet deep in the yard; there may or may not be human remains inside of it; the past owner of the home was 100% a criminal who low-key killed people.)
On Saturday, the car was completely removed from the South Bay backyard and was taken to a crime lab for further investigation. Cadaver dogs did previously make signs of “slight notification” regarding the presence of human remains, though police say they have not found any human remains so far; when the car was fully excavated from the property, on-site officers noticed no human remains, too.
Oh! And as for the previous owner of the home? Well, it was (of course) a man convicted of 2nd-degree murder in 1966 and convicted of attempted murder in 1977. Johnny Bocktune Lew, the past owner of the multi-million dollar estate, was also charged with insurance fraud in 1999… after being caught scheming ways to sink his yacht into the San Francisco Bay.
Officers did note that there appeared to be bags of unmixed concrete inside the car, so maybe Lew was plotting a similar crime with this car.
Either way, the plot is deepening (pun intended) and will continue to deepen over the next few days as updates from the crime lab come into the gray. SFist did some *chef’s kiss* coverage last week on the car here, here, and here.
Below are some more snippets of weekend news that are worthwhile to peruse:
- Homelessness amongst Latinxs has skyrocketed since the pandemic. Over 30% of SF’s residents experiencing homeless belong to Latinx communities. More info.
- Mission-Bernal Heights’ Old Devils Moon is closing in November. Partners of the business announced on IG with “heavy hearts” that the decision is the “best option,” but suggest patrons of the beloved watering hole celebrate with them, rather than mourn — “we have lots of exciting Halloween events happening through the rest of October, trivia every Tuesday, and a blowout bash in the works for our last day.” More info.
- Santa Rosa’s first gun buyback event Saturday saw hundreds of firearms traded for cash. On-site officers swapped rifles and handguns for $200; automatic weapons and ghost guns with no serial numbers were traded for $300. More info.
- Oakland’s 93-year-old Taste of Denmark bakery has closed for good. Taste of Denmark — one of Oakland’s oldest family-owned businesses — announced over the weekend that it would be closing up shop for good. The bakery served its last pastries Sunday at 3 p.m., with people lining up to get one last treat from the dessert shop. More info.
