Muni Driver Suffers Textbook Sweater Theft

The sweater-wearing community is aghast...

​Last year we interviewed a number of Muni drivers in the Mission and Excelsior regarding a disturbing trend: The calculated thefts of their clothing.

Those who covet Muni drivers' hats, jackets, shades, iPods, and other swag have it all worked out. "They pull the cables off the back and when you go to fix it they take your jacket, your backpack, the bicycles," said one driver we talked to. This happens "all the time."  

Apparently, this surefire method of stealing Muni operators' paraphernalia is still valid; last week a bus driver suffered a textbook sweater theft on Mission and Highland.  

According to a police writeup from Ingleside station, a driver who was forced to reattach his bus to the overhead wires returned to discover his brown sweater -- and a book of Muni transfers -- had been swiped. A witness told the driver the half dozen Latino teens in the back of the bus were responsible -- but when the driver confronted them, one "lifted his shirt and gave the impression that he had a gun." Well, no sweater's worth getting plugged over.

The police describe the suspects as "Hispanic males, all about 15 years old" with dark hoodies and pants.

Needless to say, one of them also may be wearing a brown sweater.