Gallery owner who hosed down distraught homeless woman sitting outside his ... trends now
A business owner who went viral after he was filmed spraying down a homeless woman with a hose in front of his San Francisco store has been arrested for battery, hours after the city's DA said he would face charges for the widely seen incident.
Collier Gwin, the owner of Foster Gwin art gallery, is currently being held on the misdemeanor charge stemming from the January 9 altercation, police said Wednesday following his arrest.
Earlier in the day, the San Francisco District Attorney's Office issued a statement announcing that a warrant for Gwin's arrest had been issued, following pronounced public outcry over the footage, which was filmed on a day where temperatures hit 49 degrees.
The video posted on social media spurred sleuths to search for and successfully identify the gallery owner, and served as enough evidence to charge Gwin, officials said following his arrest Wednesday evening.
If convicted for the offense, Gwin could face up to six months in county jail - as well as a $2,000 fine.
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A business owner who went viral after he was filmed spraying down a homeless woman with a hose in front of his San Francisco store has been arrested for battery, hours after the city's DA said he would face charges for the widely seen incident
'The alleged battery of an unhoused member of our community is completely unacceptable,' Jenkins said, referencing footage that showed the store owner nonchalantly dousing the the unnamed woman with a stream of water.
Jenkins went on to reveal that the victim did not seek to file charges against the store owner - who stood by his actions in interviews with various news outlets in recent days, saying that when he asked the woman to move, she became belligerent and refused.
Nonetheless, Jenkins said Wednesday, 'Mr. Gwin will face appropriate consequences for his actions.'
The state prosecutor - who has come under fire for soft-on-crime policies in a city experiencing crime and homeless rates not seen since the 90s - went on to chide citizens who have vandalized Gwin's store, which had its door smashed in as the footage spread across social media.
Pictured: Collier Gwin, who runs Foster Gwin Gallery in the Financial District. He was arrested at 3pm on Wednesday at his gallery after the city's DA issued a warrant for his arrest
Jenkins - who has been criticized for soft on crime polices in the past - revealed the victim did not seek to file charges against the store owner - who stood by his actions in interviews with various news outlets in recent days
'The vandalism at Foster Gwin gallery is also completely unacceptable and must stop,' the DA wrote, before telling citizens in the homeless encampment-filled city, 'Two wrongs don't make a right.'
Records show that Gwin was arrested around 3:30 pm at or near his gallery. In recent days, as arm chair sleuths zeroed in on the store owner, Gwin made it clear he was not hiding from anyone.
But even after issuing explanations to outlets including The San Francisco Chronicle and ABC 7, other local businesses condemned his actions, while scores of enraged social media users left dreadful reviews online - causing the gallery's rating on Google to plunge to just one star.
Discussing the incident earlier this week, an unapologetic Gwin cited the city's widely reported homeless situation as an inciting factor for the incident.
'I've been here for 40 years,' Gwin told The Chronicle. We have tons of homeless [people]. But they haven't been in a situation where they get that violent [within] 10 days of the neighborhood trying to do something.
'We have been able to get them taken to a shelter, which they leave immediately.'
