Suspect in San Francisco condo attack now linked to more assaults, police say

A screen shot from security video shows Austin James Vincent, 25, grabbing Paneez Kosarian and preventing her from entering her Embarcadero condo on Aug. 11, 2019. San Francisco police say he assaulted her. A screen shot from security video shows Austin James Vincent, 25, grabbing Paneez Kosarian and preventing her from entering her Embarcadero condo on Aug. 11, 2019. San Francisco police say he assaulted her. Photo: Watermark Building Security Footage Photo: Watermark Building Security Footage Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close Suspect in San Francisco condo attack now linked to more assaults, police say 1 / 7 Back to Gallery

San Francisco police say the man suspected in a frenzied attack on a woman outside her condo complex is also wanted in a February assault.

According to police, Austin James Vincent, 25, also threatened a woman and several of her friends with a knife in February. The news was first reported by The Chronicle.

A police statement issued Monday morning says Vincent threatened to kill the woman and "advanced on the victim and her friends." They were able to get into their ride-share vehicle near 4th and Brannon and leave the city, but when police responded to the scene, they were unable to locate the suspect. The victim saw Vincent's mugshot on the news last week and contacted police.

A warrant was issued for his arrest, and police expect him to surrender later today.

Police are also investigating several more incidents that may be linked to Vincent.

"The victims in these cases also came forward after seeing Vincent's booking photo following his August 11th arrest," the SFPD release reads.

Paneez Kosarian, a resident at the Watermark building, says she was attacked by Vincent returning to her home on Aug. 11.

Surveillance footage from the Watermark condo complex on Beale and Bryant shows a man attacking Kosarian outside of the glass doors around 1:40 a.m. Initially, he blocks her access to the doors. As she maneuvers to get a grip on the door handle, he starts pulling her backward into the street. A guard at the security desk gets up and eventually gets the woman inside the complex and locks the door.

@GavinNewsom Please watch this video of me getting attacked at my front door less than 72-hrs ago. The man who attacked me was released this morning because the judge, Christine Van Aken believes that this man is not a danger to our community. PLEASE SAVE OUR CITY!! #savesf pic.twitter.com/XGzmtSLQpP — Paneez Kosarianfard (@paneezkosarian) August 15, 2019

"He was trying to tell me he was trying to save my life," Kosarian told KRON4. "All the people I see are robots and he is the only human being on earth and he's trying to save me. He asked me to open the door so that he could go and kill our concierge, or front desk lady, and earn my trust. I realized this man is very mentally unstable."

Vincent was charged with false imprisonment, attempted robbery and misdemeanor battery. He was initially released awaiting trial but, after the judge saw the surveillance video on a TV news report, she ordered he return to get an ankle monitor.

"I was, frankly, alarmed by the level of violence I saw in the video," Judge Christine Van Aken said in court on Friday. "They say a picture is worth a thousand words. I am ordering that Mr. Vincent go to the Sheriff's Department for application of ankle monitoring."

Vincent does not have a permanent address in the city, police said.

Katie Dowd is an SFGATE Senior Digital Editor. Contact: katie.dowd@sfgate.com | Twitter: @katiedowd