Cops set up stake-outs around Telegraph Hill after residents of this neighborhood report a series of car break-ins.

Crime is not the usual thing in Telegraph Hill, a picturesque section of San Francisco. One of the tallest places in the city, Telegraph Hill was once used for signaling the arrival of sailing ships bringing cargo to the west.

Crowning above Telegraph Hill is Coit Tower, a monument to the brave firefighters who lost their lives during the earthquake of 1906.

Telegraph Hill is 275 feet high. So steep are the streets leading to the top of the hill, that they are laid out in a winding fashion to allow cars to make the climb.

The features of Telegraph Hill are pointed out to explain what happened to DeLucca, a novice burglar who had no clue about the terrain he was operating in.

When spotted by cops breaking into three cars, DeLucca could have surrendered, but instead he chose to run, climbing up Telegraph Hill. With cops closing in on him from several sides, DeLucca was cornered at the top of the hill near the end of Alta Street.

There he spotted a three foot retaining wall . He ran toward the wall and leaped over the top. DeLucca probably believed this was his path to escape. Not so!

On the other side of the cinder block retaining wall was a 20 story drop to near the Filbert Street steps. He was free-falling 200 feet.

DeLucca would very likely have received a 30-day sentence or even a suspended sentence if he’d been convicted of larceny.

But DeLucca, a 38-year-old veteran of the Persian Gulf War and a drug user, got a (self-imposed) death sentence—simply because he didn’t know the layout of Telegraph Hill.