SF police identify 67-year-old woman as hate crime suspect

Police in San Francisco on Friday identified a 67-year-old woman recently reported missing by her family as the suspect in a hate crime involving racist threats in the Alamo Square neighborhood last April.

The San Francisco Police Department posted about the suspect on social media at around 2:30 p.m. Friday afternoon after an investigation that had stretched over more than four months.

On the morning of April 26, police said officers were called to a home on the 900 block of Grove Street about threats being received. The victim told police that he found threatening and racist items that were left near his building.

The date and location coincide with the initial report by a professional dog walker, who said he twice received packages at his home with racist messages , including a doll with a noose around its neck and images of the Ku Klux Klan. Terry Williams said he received the two packages within a span of 10 days.

Authorities had previously shared video of a person of interest in connection with the case in June. The surveillance video showed a person in dark clothing carrying what appears to be a paper bag.

According to a press release issued by the SFPD Friday afternoon, investigators identified the suspect as 67-year-old San Francisco resident April Martin Chartrand. Police obtained a Ramey Warrant for Chartrand's arrest related to the hate crime.

Police also said Chartrand was reported missing by a family member on August 23.

The racist threats were not the only challenges Williams faced this year. Two weeks after the threats, a fire gutted Williams's home while he was at a San Francisco City Hall meeting with local officials to discuss the hate crimes.

His elderly parents were at the home at the time and were treated at a hospital, and the fire destroyed virtually all of Williams's possessions.

In late May, neighbors held a fundraiser to rally support around Williams and his family.

SFPD is asking for the public's assistance in locating Chartrand. Anyone who locates Chartrand should call 911 and report her current location and physical description.