The armed robbery spree that began on Aug. 6, 2022, in San Francisco and extended through the South Bay and East Bay has become the focus of a civil lawsuit and a contested account of who bore responsibility for the crimes.
Spree began in Nob Hill, escalated hours later in San Jose
Court records describe an incident just after 10 p.m. on Aug. 6 when a Ford Explorer stopped on Sutter Street in Nob Hill. Two masked people exited the vehicle: a woman described as heavyset in her 30s and an individual who appeared to be a younger, thin man carrying a handgun. The younger person approached two women on the sidewalk and demanded a bag. One victim, identified in court materials as Rana Kiziltenek, surrendered a purse that contained passports and cash.
Approximately three hours later, the same vehicle and persons matching the earlier description reportedly robbed four men in San Jose, about 55 miles south. The robbers took cash and mobile phones. The victims pursued in their car; according to court filings, the suspects fired one shot that shattered the pursuit vehicle’s tail light and brought the chase to a halt.
Two women at centre of the cases
Authorities later linked the wave of robberies to Nicole Holmes, a 35‑year‑old mother of four, and Aamonte Hadley, age 20, who had no prior criminal record. The two women, the reporting indicates, were in a volatile romantic relationship that investigators say underpinned the series of crimes that unfolded over the course of a month.
The pair’s personal histories figure prominently in court documents and interviews: both women’s backgrounds include accounts of childhood disruption, rejection and trauma, according to the assembled record. Those histories are central to divergent narratives now being advanced in legal settings.
“This case is about the trauma suffered by two tormented souls and their mental pathologies that brought them together and provided the underpinnings of their robbery spree,”
The quotation above is attributed to Richard Shikman, the criminal defence lawyer representing Hadley, and was included in the reporting that compiled court records and interviews with family members, friends and law enforcement.
Civil suit raises questions about responsibility
Hadley’s family has filed a lawsuit against the City of San Francisco. The complaint, and the broader public record, spotlight two competing versions of events: one that portrays one woman as driving the criminal conduct and another that frames that same person as a victim of manipulation or coercion by the other. The litigation will test those claims in a civil forum while criminal matters remain part of the judicial record.
- Timeline highlights: initial Nob Hill robbery shortly after 10 p.m. Aug. 6, 2022; related San Jose robberies about three hours later the same night.
- Suspects: identified in court records as Nicole Holmes (35) and Aamonte Hadley (20).
- Legal actions: criminal records and a civil lawsuit filed by Hadley’s family against San Francisco.
| Date | Location | Reported action |
|---|---|---|
| Aug. 6, 2022 (≈10 p.m.) | Nob Hill, San Francisco | Armed robbery of two women; passports and money taken |
| Aug. 6, 2022 (≈1 a.m.) | San Jose | Robbery of four men; cash and cellphones taken; shot fired at pursuit vehicle |
The Standard’s reconstruction of events draws on jailhouse interviews, court records and conversations with more than a dozen individuals connected to the case, including family members, friends, attorneys and law‑enforcement officials. Those materials form the evidentiary basis for both criminal prosecutions and the civil claim now before a court.
The case raises broader questions about how courts and communities weigh competing claims of coercion, trauma and culpability when intimate relationships intersect with criminal conduct. As the lawsuit progresses, it will also scrutinize the conduct of municipal agencies named in the complaint and their interaction with the individuals involved.
All parties retain the presumption of innocence in criminal matters, and the civil claim will proceed under the applicable standard of proof in that forum.
