San Francisco cops have increased patrols around a mental health center near Golden Gate Park after neighbors expressed over fears of an alleged murderer’s placement at the facility, which has a record of patients going missing from its secure unit.
The Crestwood Healing Center, a privately run, publicly funded 50-bed facility in St. Mary’s Hospital, houses people deemed unfit to care for themselves. Just blocks from a college campus, private high school, daycare center, and playground, the facility opened in 2018 as part of the city’s efforts to add beds for the severely mentally ill, including those forced into conservatorship.
Over three years, Crestwood has reported 23 patients missing, 911 call data shows. More than a dozen of those patients never returned, according to the facility’s management.
The police response follows an investigation by The Standard into Michael Jacobs’ placement at the facility after the alleged murderer was found incompetent to stand trial. Jacobs was charged in 2019 with killing Chris Moyer on Dec. 24, 2018, in a SoMa alley and attempting to murder Maritza Mercado the following day.
In the years since his arrest, Jacobs was shuttled between Napa State Hospital and San Francisco’s jails as his mental health status fluctuated. He was placed under conservatorship late last year and transferred to Crestwood in the spring after a doctor determined he was not dangerous, despite concerns from District Attorney Brooke Jenkins about the facility’s suitability for housing potentially dangerous patients.
The DA filed a motion opposing Jacobs’ placement at Crestwood, citing his history of assaultive behavior when not taking medication. A judge denied the DA’s request to review the placement on procedural grounds, saying the DA was no longer a party to the case.
When the city moved Jacobs from jail to Crestwood, officials with the city attorney’s office described it as a secure facility. A reporter from The Standard visited the facility in April and was able to easily enter without being challenged or asked for credentials.
“We understand the alarm this situation has caused, particularly given the serious nature of the allegations against Mr. Jacobs and the proximity of the facility to schools, parks, and residential neighborhoods,” SFPD Park Station Capt. Angela Wilhelm wrote Tuesday to a neighbor who had contacted police and posted concerns on Nextdoor.
Department brass verified the extra patrols by Park Station.
The police action followed an Aug. 15 online letter campaign demanding immediate city action in response to The Standard’s report. The letter, addressed to the mayor and other city officials, called for increased police patrols, the transfer of Jacobs to a secure state-run hospital, and security upgrades at Crestwood.
“My neighbors and I are alarmed to learn that Michael Jacobs … is currently housed at this facility,” the letter states. “Knowing that an alleged killer — deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial — is in a facility where patients routinely go missing just blocks away is deeply frightening for residents, students, and families of preschoolers alike.”
A Crestwood representative said the company is working with police and has begun a review of its security protocols.
“Whenever there is a rare security incident, such as an occasional client failing to return on time after a planned outing, Crestwood regularly reviews its safety protocols and makes improvements where necessary,” the representative said in a statement.
In an earlier statement, a Crestwood representative clarified that the facility is not a jail; it is a rehabilitation center meant to eventually release people back into the community.
Still, it’s unclear if such assurances will come as any relief to neighbors for whom St. Mary’s Hospital now casts a different sort of shadow.