First attempted arrest in the decoy car campaign in San Francisco following a deal; car thief spent 11 months in prison

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — No other reporters other than the ABC7 I-Team were in the courtroom Friday as the first man arrested in San Francisco's latest bait-and-switch scheme received a plea deal. His car theft victims are not happy that 27-year-old Robert Sonza will be released Friday – his sentence completed after spending 11 months in prison. Sonza has a history of car break-ins, eluding police, domestic violence and more.

On September 1st of last year, Dan and Linda Oldiges' rental car was broken into. They had traveled from Indiana to get married and had parked in this parking lot to visit Alcatraz prison.

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Dan Oldiges: “You are in a busy parking lot, crowded with thousands of people. Crimes don't usually happen there. They happen late, late at night and …”
Linda Oldiges: “Not in broad daylight.”
Dan Oldiges: “Not in good areas of the city, but this is a tourist attraction.”

They lost cash, a $1,200 iPad and a $3,500 laptop. Police arrested 27-year-old Robert Sonza the same day after he broke into another rental car and a San Francisco Police decoy vehicle. On Friday morning in San Francisco Superior Court, Judge Harry Jacobs approved a deal – two years in county jail for each of the three burglary counts, but the sentences will be served concurrently. That means that after the 11 months he spent in prison and good times, Sonza will be released today.

Dan Noyes of the ABC7 I-Team shared the news with the couple. Dan Oldiges said, “Well, I can't say I'm surprised. I mean, the people of San Francisco are voting for these people. They're supporting them. Yeah, I don't know what else to say. I– to me, this is a joke.”

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San Francisco Public Defender Anita Nabha emailed us that Sonza has “completed over 300 hours of programs in custody… to work toward college credits” and that social workers have helped him “identify additional opportunities available to him upon release.”

A probation violation was also part of this case. In April 2022, Sonza was observed by police driving a stolen SUV that was used in several car break-ins that day.

“The police sort of trapped him,” said witness Patrick Rylee. “It's a one-way street. They trapped him down there.”

Police had Sonza in a dead end on Union Street behind Montgomery, but he sped away, wrecked that garage on Alta Street, clipped cars and returned to the intersection where Officer Riley Bandy had just stopped. The I-Team obtained Bandy's body camera video from that night.

“He drove straight toward my car and tried to run me over,” said Riley Bandy of the San Francisco Police Department. “So I had to jump back in my car to avoid being killed.”

Then you see Sonza backing up and driving down the sidewalk to avoid the police, hitting these stairs and taking out this Vespa. He made it to Columbus and Broadway where he crashed into a civilian's car, injuring him. Sonza fled the scene and was eventually caught by cops a few blocks away in Chinatown.

SFPD Officer: “He was sitting in the driver's seat of our car when the car hit our car. So he–“
Riley Bandy: “I feel it. I feel my back cramping.”

Sonza injured two police officers and this civilian. Prosecutors initially charged Sonza with several counts: Assault on a Peace Officer with a Deadly Weapon, Hit and Run, Fleeing an Officer with Willful Disregard, Hit and Run, Resisting Arrest, and a misdemeanor count of Possession of Burglary Tools. As part of a plea agreement, all charges were dropped except for a single count of Fleeing an Officer.

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Bandy told the I-Team, “I was really surprised to learn that they really dropped everything, you know, to learn that they dropped almost everything.”

That trial also involved an incident that occurred on February 2 of last year. Police had arrived at the Japantown garage for a carjacking. Officers attempted to arrest Sonza as a suspect, but he fled – getting in his car, running over an officer's foot and ramming a parked car. Nine additional charges were filed in that case, including assault on a police officer, burglary of a vehicle, hit and run, and resisting arrest.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said, “I am also disappointed” about Sonza's release after 11 months in prison.

Daniel Noyes: “The bottom line is: They pushed for more, but they didn’t get it.”
Brooke Jenkins: “That's right. Based on his previous criminal history and his conduct in the new case, we believe the sentence should be added together. So the old case and the sentence he faced for it should be added to what we agreed to in the new case. However, the judge, after reviewing his criminal history and hearing our arguments, disagreed.”

Robert Sonza was also ordered to pay restitution: $10,000 to the Oldigeses and $4,000 to his other victim that night. However, his public defender told the court that he was indigent and therefore did not have to pay court costs, but would still have to pay for what he stole from the two victims.

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Here is the full statement from San Francisco Deputy Public Defender Anita Nabha:

Today, Mr. Sonza was sentenced to two years in prison as part of an agreement with prosecutors.

Since his arrest in 2023, Mr. Sonza has served almost one year in prison Where he has acquired additional time credits for Intake took advantage of every program opportunity available to him to get his life back on track. Social workers from the San Francisco Public Defender's Office also worked closely with Mr. Sonza to find additional options for him after his release.

Mr. Sonza is a dedicated son, brother and father who plans to return to school to earn additional certifications that will make him an attractive candidate for a union position. As a testament to his dedication, Mr. Sonza completed over 300 hours of programs, including college credits, while in custody. Prior to his arrest last year, he was in the process of completing a training program for which he plans to reapply.

Check out more stories from the ABC7 News I-Team.