San Francisco cops on Wednesday arrested a sadist who tortured a kitten to death in a bank vestibule after a chase that led them to the rooftop of a flophouse hotel, police said.
The San Francisco Police Department was alerted to the case on July 2, when officers became aware of an animal abuse incident being investigated by San Francisco Animal Care and Control.
Officers learned that the day prior, a man entered a bank ATM vestibule on the 1800 block of Market Street around 2 a.m. carrying a small kitten and “proceeded to violently torture the animal to death,” SFPD spokeswoman Allison Maxie said.
The suspect then fled the scene carrying the dead animal, Maxie said.
Over the following days, investigators collected clues that led to the identification of 33-year-old William Ohlson of Reno, Nevada, as the perpetrator of the crime.
Soon, SFPD officers policing illegal drug markets in the city’s blighted Tenderloin District were able to track Ohlson to a hotel where he was staying, on the 100 block of Fell Street near the city’s Civic Center.
Then, on Wednesday, officers served a search warrant at the hotel in a raid aided by the presence of police drones. As police called for Ohlson to come out from his room, a drone operator told the cops surrounding the hotel that Ohlson had fled and onto the roof.
“Where’s he running?” asked one of the cops of the drone operator.
“He’s on the roof,” came the reply.
Ohlson hopped from the hotel’s rooftop to the roof of an adjacent building, with an officer leaning out the window of the hotel to keep eyes on him.
A standoff ensured, with officers pleading with Ohlson to come down and surrender himself. Wild video of the scene shows officers attempting to talk the accused kitten killer down from the roof.
“If you just go in there and let the officers do their thing, they can explain to you what’s going to happen further,” one of the offers tells Ohlson. “There’s nowhere for you to go.”
Soon, a fire engine with San Francisco Fire Department arrived at the scene and extended a ladder to the rooftop. A trio of officers then climbed the ladder to the roof while still calling for Ohlson to surrender.
Ohlson dropped to his knees and placed his hands on his head as officers raced to him and placed him in handcuffs. No injuries were reported.
Ohlson was booked into San Francisco County Jail No. 1 on charges of animal abuse and resisting arrest. If convicted, he may face fines of up to $25,000 and time in state prison.
Ohlson was released from jail on Thursday and is next due in court on Monday, according to court records. The case is still under investigation.
