The former San Francisco public works director Mohammed Nuru was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly pulling a knife at the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank in Dogpatch.
Officials say Nuru visited the food bank on Wednesday afternoon while brandishing a kitchen knife and attempted to steal a bag of potato chips. The former director later said it was a joke.
“BREAKING: Sources tell me Mohammed Nuru was booked for robbery after brandishing a knife at a Bayview foodbank. Nuru allegedly also tried to steal potato chips. Then said he was just kidding. This. Is. So. Bizarre,” KGO’s Dion Lim wrote on Twitter.
The San Francisco Police Department later arrested Nuru on suspicion of robbery.
“Officers met with the victim who told officers that he was approached by an adult male suspect who produced a knife and demanded the victim’s property,” the police department’s statement read. “Fearing for his safety the victim left the area and notified police. Officers located the suspect who was taken into custody without incident.”
Who Is Mohammed Nuru?
The FBI has been investigating Nuru for corruption charges since 2020. Authorities also arrested former restaurateur Nick Bovis, who was reportedly Nuru’s partner in bribing a San Francisco airport commissioner for prime restaurant space at San Francisco International Airport. It is reported that the commissioner refused to take the $5,000 bribe.
Last week, two San Francisco city contractors pled guilty to charges of conspiracy to bribe a city official after they provided gifts and benefits to Nuru to receive confidential information about upcoming public contracts in the city.
