S.F. woman gets a year for posing as blast victim SAN BRUNO

Angela Marie Wise, convicted of posing as a victim of the San Bruno gas pipeline explosion in order to receive free benefits. Angela Marie Wise, convicted of posing as a victim of the San Bruno gas pipeline explosion in order to receive free benefits. Photo: San Mateo County Sheriff Photo: San Mateo County Sheriff Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close S.F. woman gets a year for posing as blast victim 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A San Francisco woman was sentenced Monday to a year in San Mateo County Jail for posing as a victim of the San Bruno natural gas pipeline explosion to receive free benefits.

Angela Marie Wise, 47, pleaded no contest in December to burglary, passing a forged document, perjury and identity theft, all felonies.

At a hearing Monday, Judge John Grandsaert of San Mateo County Superior Court rejected a request by prosecutor Tricia Povah to sentence Wise to state prison, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

Wise represented herself as a San Bruno resident and visited an assistance center that state disaster officials set up four days after the Sept. 9 blast, which killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes.

She requested a $1,000 Visa card, saying she had incurred damage and had been homeless since the blast.

Wise has previous convictions for grand theft and commercial burglary for stealing $3,200 in merchandise from the Macy's department store in Daly City, Wagstaffe said. She is at least the fifth person to be convicted of trying improperly to receive aid intended for blast victims.