No murder charge filed in Chinatown theater death

Harris Rosenbloom Harris Rosenbloom Photo: Courtesy / San Francisco Police Department Photo: Courtesy / San Francisco Police Department Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close No murder charge filed in Chinatown theater death 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

Prosecutors on Tuesday declined to file murder charges against a San Francisco entertainment promoter whom police arrested in connection with the death of a 31-year-old woman at the Great Star Theater in Chinatown.

A spokesman for the District Attorney’s Office said there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute Harris Rosenbloom, 48, who reported the death of Oakland resident Kelsey Fourdyce on Sunday afternoon and shortly afterward was taken into custody on suspicion of homicide. Police have yet to say how Fourdyce died, and the medical examiner has not determined the cause of death.

Rosenbloom was expected to be released from County Jail late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

“The cause of death remains undetermined,” said district attorney spokesman Alex Bastian. “Drugs may have been involved, and we are waiting for the toxicology report prior to making a charging decision.”

What took place at the historic theater at 636 Jackson St. over the weekend remained unclear Tuesday. Rosenbloom, 48, is leasing the property and working to revitalize the space.

Fourdyce worked as a purchasing manager at MiOS, an international hardware and software company, according to her LinkedIn page.

Her family, who could not be reached for comment, described her on Facebook as “beautiful, radiant, electrifying, sweet.”

Rosenbloom’s attorney, Randall Knox, said that while he could not comment on what happened over the weekend, his client was cooperating with investigators. He also declined to comment on the charging decision.

Rosenbloom has long been involved in San Francisco’s entertainment community. Friends and colleagues said his recent priority has been trying to get the Great Star Theater in better condition and hold more events there.

The venue does not have an entertainment permit, according to the city Entertainment Commission, though various comedy shows and film festivals have taken place at the space over the past few months. At least one comedy show was held last weekend.

According to the entertainment commission, Rosenbloom is leasing the space and working to obtain an entertainment permit.

Rosenbloom launched a fundraiser for the theater in hopes of raising $40,000 for improvements, but it failed.

The owners of the space, a limited liability corporation called 626 Jackson LLC, were unavailable for comment.

Rosenbloom has run into a handful of legal problems similar to the permitting issue with the Great Star Theater.

In 2005, the city and county of San Francisco filed a public nuisance lawsuit against Rosenbloom after police repeatedly busted him for running a nightclub and selling liquor out of a building in the Tenderloin that was not licensed to do either of those things, according to court documents. The case was dismissed after Rosenbloom and the other defendants agreed to cease their nightclub operations and pay $17,100 in fees and penalties.

Rosenbloom was also sued in 2011 for not paying rent on a restaurant that he was involved in running in the Polk Gulch area. A judge ordered Rosenbloom and his co-defendant, Arlan Rosenbloom, to pay $28,801 in damages and attorney fees. It is not clear whether the two Rosenblooms are related.

Vivian Ho and Kale Williams are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. E-mail: vho@sfchronicle.com, kwilliams@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @VivianHo, @sfkale