Extortion Suspect Pleads Not Guilty to Burglary Charges

At an arraignment hearing Tuesday, 37-year-old Victor Turk of San Francisco entered a plea of not guilty for breaking into a Half Moon Bay woman’s car in San Francisco, stealing her social security card and credit card, and then allegedly trying to sell them back to her.

The incident happened last week when, after the woman’s car was broken into, she received a phone call the next day from Turk, offering to return her property if she paid him a reward. He allegedly told her he bought her information from a car burglar for that amount and promised to return her property if she repaid him. 

She arranged to meet him last Sunday at the Shoreline Station in Half Moon Bay, working with Sheriff’s deputies, who were waiting for Turk in an unmarked vehicle. They arrested the man and upon searching his car found the woman’s stolen cards, burglary tools and a glass pipe containing a small amount of suspected methamphetamine. 

Turk was charged with attempted extortion, possessing a controlled substance and ID theft, according to a district attorney report. At the time of his arrest, he was already out on bail for a March drug charge out of Daly City.

He is scheduled to return to court in September for a preliminary hearing.