SFPD lieutenant finds attempted murder case abandoned for over a year, solves it himself in weeks
A conscientious SFPD lieutenant who noticed a brutal throat-slitting had gone without investigation for a year and a half, restarted the probe himself, interviewed the victim, inked an arrest warrant, and had the alleged perpetrator behind bars for attempted murder in weeks, it has emerged.
Police say Jacob Knibb tried to kill a homeless man in a Walgreens parking lot in San Francisco’s Castro district on October 15 2024. The victim miraculously survived despite suffering a punctured artery, which bled into his lungs, requiring a 10-day hospital stay.
The investigation hit the rocks immediately after officers failed to find any video of the incident and then gave up.
In an arrest warrant affidavit Lt Daniel Cole says he learned about the case in February 2026 and made inquiries about why nothing more had been done. Evidently feeling there was still plenty of scope for shoe-leather policing, he dealt with it himself.
Cole tracked down the victim and interviewed him, learning he knew full well who his attacker was – another homeless man, Jacob Knibb.
Knibb, 37, came to the city in 2020 according to his social media posts.
The victim said he thought Knibb has stolen a bike and, when confronted about it, Knibb became enraged and launched the attack. Just prior to the assault Knibb called him a “faggot”, he said.
Since the assault the victim had lived in fear, he said, and thought Knibb would try to kill him again.
In multiple meetings with the victim, Cole confirmed Knibb’s identity using photographs and obtained the victim’s hospital paperwork to evidence the injuries. He also learned that Knibb was the prime suspect in a 2025 San Francisco residential burglary.
Cole authored a detailed arrest warrant which was approved by Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulman on April 6 2026. One day later Knibb was detained for attempted murder and assault.
Notwithstanding Cole’s outstanding work, and despite the vulnerable victim’s appalling injuries and survival only through luck, weak-kneed prosecutors couldn’t ditch the attempted murder charge fast enough.
Instead they authorized only a single charge of assault with a deadly weapon.
Knibb, who has pleaded not guilty to assault, will next appear on May 7 at the Hall of Justice.
The case continues.
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