Burglary suspect dies in Telegraph Hill fall SAN FRANCISCO Man falls 200 feet after leap over wall on Telegraph Hill

A suspected car burglar, trying to elude police officers, died after the unidentified man jumped over a retaining wall at the end of Alta Street (left) on Telegraph Hill and fell 200-feet below in San Francisco, Calif., on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008. less A suspected car burglar, trying to elude police officers, died after the unidentified man jumped over a retaining wall at the end of Alta Street (left) on Telegraph Hill and fell 200-feet below in San ... more Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Photo: Paul Chinn, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Burglary suspect dies in Telegraph Hill fall 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

A car-burglary suspect fell to his death early Thursday after he climbed over a wall on San Francisco's Telegraph Hill while trying to flee from police, apparently unaware that on the other side of the wall was a 200-foot cliff, authorities said.

The man was identified by the San Francisco medical examiner's office as James Ronald Cockrum Jr., 38, of Daly City. His grandmother said Cockrum was the married father of a 2-year-old girl. He was an Army veteran who had spent time in prison for drugs.

The incident began at 12:30 a.m. when police received reports of someone breaking into a car on Alta Street near Montgomery Street, east of Coit Tower.

Plainclothes officers set up surveillance in the area and spotted Cockrum getting out of an Audi, said police spokesman Sgt. Neville Gittens. Police tried to stop him, but he took off running. At one point, he stumbled and a screwdriver fell out of his pocket, police said.

Cockrum jumped over a 3-foot wall at the end of Alta Street and plunged the equivalent of 20 stories. He was pronounced dead at the scene, west of Sansome Street.

Officers found that a Subaru and possibly a third car had been broken into, Gittens said.

Louie Mandecote, a caregiver for a resident on Alta, said the incident was unnerving because "this neighborhood is so quiet."

Mandecote added, "It's a long-way drop from where Alta Street is. He probably doesn't live here if he didn't know that."

Two-block-long Alta is one of the oldest streets in San Francisco, dating from the 1850s. In March 1992, a cliffside Art Deco building on Alta fell down the same slope over several days as a result of heavy rains.

Cockrum's grandmother, Geraldine Cockrum of Merced, agreed that he was not familiar with the area and would not have leapt over the wall had he known what was on the other side.

"Oh, heck no," she said, adding that he was "big and strong. He thought he could do anything."

She said her grandson's life had deteriorated as a result of drug use.

"When he was not on drugs, he was the kindest, sweetest guy you ever met," she said. "When he was on drugs, he wasn't mean. He was just stealing."

Cockrum was convicted of possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced in 2006 to two years in state prison. He was paroled Feb. 6 of this year, according to the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Geraldine Cockrum said her grandson attended high school in Merced, joined the Army and served in the Middle East during the Persian Gulf War.

He began using drugs in high school, she said. "I think he just fell in line with some of his high school buddies," Cockrum said. "It's just been on and off drugs ever since."

He leaves behind his wife and their daughter, who turned 2 in July.