Urban Alchemy Employee Robs Mother at Gunpoint in The Richmond
“You want me to do this in front of your kids? I’ll shoot you.”
The Urban Alchemy is a nonprofit with a growing footprint in San Francisco’s Tenderloin. The Alchemy’s mission is to provide people recently released from prison or other members suffering from addiction or homelessness with employment as “ambassadors” in the Tenderloin district.
However, the Urban Alchemy does not operate without controversy in San Francisco:
· The San Francisco Examiner reported, San Francisco taxpayers contributed $41 million to this nonprofit via a no-bid contract.
· On February 22, 2022, an Urban Alchemy ambassador was shot in the shoulder outside of a homeless encampment next to the former Main San Francisco Public Library.
· On March 20, 2023, in front of Urban Alchemy’s offices on Market Street, Garrett, a 6’4” male, was hit multiple times, including in face, with a master lock on a chain. A witness described the main assailant as a person wearing “a green jacket with an Urban Alchemy logo on it.”[1]
· From SFPD sources: over the past month, SFPD Tenderloin officers and SFPD undercover narcotics officers have claimed Urban Alchemy ambassadors have interrupted their operations and arrests. One of the conflicts rose to a level that SFPD officers threatened to arrest the Urban Alchemy ambassadors if the interference continued. The events triggered a meeting between Urban Alchemy supervisors and SFPD at Tenderloin Station.
There is an irony to the Urban Alchemy’s mission in that it contradicts the diversity and inclusion philosophy. Whereas diversity and inclusion strive to integrate people to a fresh and balanced environment, the Urban Alchemy has the effect of keeping our most vulnerable in an environment that tempts them every day to return to their old habits. But money from a $41 million no-bid contract can make progressives overlook the inconsistencies in their philosophies.
Robbery in the Richmond
Around 6 pm on Friday, March 24, 2023, Alyxandria had just parked in her own garage with two young children in her car. Alyxandria was taking one of her children out of the car when Darryl Rushing[2] entered the garage.
Rushing pointed a gun at Alyxandria’s face and said, “You give me your wallet right now. You want me to do this in front of your kids? I’ll shoot you.” Rushing then grabbed Alyxandria’s diaper bag containing an Apple iPhone, jewelry, and keys in it and fled in a Honda. Do you think that affected the 6-year-old?
At Golden Gate and Jones Streets, SFPD Officers Cypress and Reitter arrested Rushing and seized a Walther firearm.
Rushing is a native of San Francisco. He is on parole for murder and is an employee of Urban Alchemy. Non-law enforcement locals tell me he is 53 years old,[3] briefly attended Washington High School, and hangs around the Fillmore District. His son, with the same name, was arrested in Burlingame for a robbery in 2016.
DA Brooke Jenkins immediately asked for Rushing to be held without bail. Something that would not have happened under the prior DA.
The Urban Alchemy will claim Rushing is an “ex-employee” as soon as this article hits.
Is Urban Alchemy a shady operation?
The Urban Alchemy is run by CEO Lena Miller who has spent her career in the nonprofit industry, an industry with a reputation for nebulous accounting methods and a deficiency of results. Miller’s LinkedIn account shows she works out of Urban Alchemy’s offices in Los Angeles, and she claims Urban Alchemy has contracts in Los Angeles. However, the Urban Alchemy’s 2019 tax return uses a San Francisco address and appears to have only reported their operations in San Francisco. Perhaps those LA contracts are laundered through different nonprofits.
The Examiner noted that Miller has not been forthright about her salary while they uncovered she earned a salary of $220,000 from the $41 million SF taxpayers contributed. Ironically, the Urban Alchemy’s 2019[4]Internal Revenue 990 tax return (page 7), shows Miller earned $30,518 and COO Baryon Wilson earned $13,926 dollars for their 40-hour work weeks. It is very altruistic for the two Urban Alchemy employees to work for less than San Francisco’s minimum wage.
The purpose of this article is to share the violent details of a robbery that were not covered in the San Francisco Chronicle. However, as a CPA who has written previous articles on non-profits’ suspicious operations, I found the above items contribute to the Urban Alchemy’s failure to pass the smell test.
[1] SFPD case number: 230.195.938
[2] Also known as Patrick Rushing.
[3] This age differs from is reported date of birth of November 2, 1965.
[4] 2019 was the second year of operation and tax return for Urban Alchemy. This should rule out that 2019 was a partial year return.
Great article Lou. The non profit machines are feeding themselves and continue to contribute to the problems they claim to address. The money trail says it all.
Excellent article. Very informative.