CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : Bandits Grease Hilly Street, Rob 15 in Cars

More than 15 people have been robbed during the past 10 days by so-called “oilcan bandits,” who greased a hilly street in an inner-city neighborhood and then pounced on stalled motorists, authorities said. Police put a temporary stop to the street crimes by stationing marked patrol cars at the oiled-down intersection in the city’s Army Street thoroughfare near U.S. 101. In each case, police said, motorists unable to drive up the oil-slicked street were attacked by five or more men wielding clubs and occasionally guns.