San Rafael Detectives Arrest Habitual Domestic Violence Offender in San Francisco
SAN RAFAEL – On Tuesday, December 16 at 9:30 pm San Rafael Police Department (SRPD) responded to an active report of domestic violence in the vicinity of Sonoma Street and Canal Street.
SRPD Officers met with the victim, who had a large laceration on the top of her head and swelling of her right eye, cheeks and nose. The victim also had contusions to both sides of her face and hands. The victim told officers that her boyfriend of nine years, Howard Francis Brown, physically assaulted her while in front of her apartment.
According to Lieutenant Dan Fink of the SRPD, the victim said that Brown had called her as he was driving from San Francisco and that he sounded intoxicated. She said that she had been the victim of domestic violence at the hands of her boyfriend before, and that he was typically intoxicated when he assaulted her. Because of this history the victim had gathered up the three children that the couple had together in order to avoid her boyfriend.
When the victim left with her children she again spoke with her boyfriend on the phone, and told him that he could not go to the apartment because she would not be there. He then told her that he was not going to go to the apartment and that she could bring the kids back. The victim drove back to the apartment and made sure to look for Brown’s car. Not seeing it in the vicinity, the victim unloaded her kids with the intention of returning to the apartment.
All of a sudden she saw Brown walking towards her. Two of the kids went ahead to the apartment but the youngest, an eight month old, was taken from her arms by her boyfriend. The victim told Brown that he could sleep in the apartment with the kids and that she would stay in her car. He refused, and threatened to throw the eight-month-old baby to the ground if she did not come up to the apartment. Out of concern for the baby, the victim agreed.
Because of her past domestic violence experiences with her boyfriend, the victim knew that if she went to the apartment that she would be violently assaulted. When her boyfriend turned around to walk upstairs with the baby the victim attempted to flee. Brown caught up to her, grabbed her wrist, and then walked her towards the apartment. Then he assaulted her, causing the above-described injuries. The victim began screaming for help and two residents in the area came to her aid, placing themselves between the victim and her boyfriend. He fled the scene before SRPD officers arrived.
SRPD Detectives were called upon to locate and arrest the boyfriend. Detectives were able to locate an address for him in the Potrero Hill District of San Francisco. San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) Officers and SRPD Detectives located his car and covertly waited near his parked vehicle until he left for work at 3 am. When he appeared, SFPD Officers identified themselves and the suspect then attempted to flee on foot. He was apprehended after a short foot chase.
The suspect was identified as Howard Francis Brown, a 35-year-old resident of San Francisco. SRPD Detectives transported Brown back to San Rafael where he was booked at the Marin County Jail for domestic violence charges, assault with a deadly weapon, and for violating a current domestic violence restraining order. Detectives also obtained a bail enhancement, which raised the bail from $50,000 to $500,000.
