SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A memorial grows outside the San Francisco home of famous private investigator Jack Palladino days after his death.
He was attacked during a robbery in Haight Ashbury and died from a resulting brain injury on Thursday.
Police say robbers tried to grab Palladino’s camera, but he gripped on and even snapped some photos during the struggle before falling to the ground and hitting his head.
The pictures he took before his attackers fled were used by police to track down two people who were later charged with assault with a deadly weapon and other crimes.
His wife told The Associated Press that he would have loved knowing he helped take down his attackers.
He was 76 years old.
In a career spanning over 40 years, Palladino investigated major cases, like the mass death of the Jonestown cult in Guyana.
Palladino had many celebrity clients including Robin Williams and Kevin Costner, who were targets of fan or tabloid abuse.
He was also involved in recovering a truckload of equipement stolen from the Grateful Dead.
The investigator once described himself as the person you call when the house is on fire and not when there’s smoke in the kitchen.
Palladino was born in Boston but has longtime ties to the Bay Area. He studied law at UC Berkeley after graduating from Cornell University.
He lived and worked in San Francisco for decades and retired here about one year ago.
Now, San Francisco is returning the love by remembering him.