By Thomas K. Pendergast

Nine months after arson and burglaries devastated the Outer Sunset’s Great Wall Hardware store, owner Albert Chow said, thanks to community support, he is recovering, although he still has a long way to go.

“All these people wanting me to come back, really feeling for us and you never know what you miss until it’s gone, Chow said. “And that’s how I think a lot of people felt; it’s like, ‘Oh my God, Great Wall is out!’ I can’t thank everybody enough because so many have contributed. It was so heartwarming. It made the pain of the fire so much easier to swallow, knowing that I had so many friends out there that I didn’t know I had.”

Soon after the Aug. 25, 2024, arson fire and subsequent burglaries at his hardware store at 1821 Taraval St., Chow set up a GoFundMe page, which he said was supported by at least 460 donors and netted just under $60,000. It was welcome support that he needed to tide him over until the insurance finally kicked in.

But it was the personal connections from the community for which he is especially grateful.

“I had guys coming up to me and then just go in their wallet and pull out a wad of cash and said, ‘Here.’ I literally had that happen to me,” he said. “I was outside sweeping the debris and covering up the debris so the rain wouldn’t get to it. I’ve had customers, whether at the post office or they drove by and they saw me outside and they literally came up to me and said ‘Albert, man I feel so bad for you.’

“And they just whip out a wallet; pull out a purse. One person literally just grabbed a bunch of twenties and put them in my hand. I’ve never seen anything like that,” he said.

In the early hours of a Sunday morning, the store’s security camera recorded clear images of the arsonist. Chow shared the images with the authorities, but the suspect is still at large.

“They know who it is. They haven’t got him. So, he’s probably not even in the state,” Chow said.

The fire tore through the store and the flames reached the apartments above, one of which housed Chow’s 81-year-old mother. The fire displaced her and two tenants who lived in the other apartment, although no one was seriously injured beyond his mother being treated for smoke inhalation and kept overnight in the hospital for observation.

Soon after that, the business and apartments were burglarized three separate times.

According to media reports and Chow, an SFPD sergeant patrolling the area noticed a van that looked out of place in the parking lot next door before daylight and investigated.

Two people were arrested: 48-year-old Aaron Jason Vansickle and 36-year-old Grace Chetwiy Roberts.

Court records show that on April 25, 2025, Vansickle changed his plea from “not guilty” to “no contest” for a charge of misdemeanor second degree burglary.

His attorney, Deputy Public Defender Adam Birka-White, released this statement:

“Mr. Vansickle pled no contest to a misdemeanor for entering the premises of the shuttered hardware store. He did not take anything and therefore was not ordered to pay any restitution. He was sentenced to time served and put on court probation for one year.”

Court records show Roberts was released by the court on her own recognizance on Sept. 5, 2024. Those records also show that on Nov. 5 she received a “positive pretrial diversion report.”

On Feb. 26, the court ordered an evaluation for mental health diversion. On April 9, the court received a mental health diversion evaluation report.

The court records do not show any charges being filed against Roberts related to this incident.

Conflict Attorney James Senal, who is a private attorney not employed by the court and was involved in this case, was contacted for this article but refused to comment or offer any more information about Roberts.

Meanwhile, Chow is continuing to rebuild and eventually open back up again, especially now that the insurance money is starting to come through.

“There’s still some follow up to do, but for the most part, they gave me a good check that’s enough to cover a good deal of construction, so we were able to start,” he said. “Of course, looking at all the horror stories of anyone that has a disaster, it takes forever to build back. I thought ‘man, when am I ever going to come back from this’?

“I was very, very fortunate to settle a good portion of the claim as much as I did and as quick as I did and then start building. One advantage is that I don’t have to look for a contractor because I’m my own contractor,” Chow said.

“I’m more or less scheduled to come back, hopefully by the end of the year. We just actually finished a couple of building inspections today, so we’re just moving from phase to phase,” he said.