Lazy coffee heir who lives in huge mansion goes on Land Rover rampage through streets of San Francisco

A San Francisco nepo baby went on a violent rampage in his Land Rover before fleeing from police, cops say. 

Austin Hills, 45, who is the heir to the Hills Bros. Coffee company fortune, is facing charges of assault with a deadly weapon and evading an officer following a spree on the streets of San Francisco on Thursday. 

The chaos began after Hills allegedly tailgated a Tesla, before ramming into the vehicle, according to police.

A Tesla security guard said he was taking a break on his night shift and was in one of the electric vehicles when he was targeted at around 3.15am.

He said the driver, later identified as Hills, ‘made an unusual hand gesture’ as he started following him, before turning off his head lights and attempted to rear-end the Tesla ‘at high speed’.

Hills, who lives in a $12.5 million Bay Area mansion, allegedly tried to ram into the Tesla numerous times, and followed the security guard into a Tesla warehouse parking lot. 

He then allegedly picked another target, and plowed into an occupied Kia vehicle three times.

When police located him on a nearby road he allegedly fled the scene and led cops on a daring high-speed pursuit. 

Fremont Police admitted they lost Hills on Interstate 680 when he turned off his lights and ‘began driving erratically at a high rate of speed’.

Austin Hills, 45, the heir to a coffee company fortune in San Francisco, rammed cars with his Land Rover and fled from police in a bizarre episode, cops say

Hills was arrested at around 7:20am at the Napa Police headquarters.

Investigators said they found several items including a pressure cooker, a gas mask, ammunition and a drone inside his vehicle.

Hills was previously slated by his millionaire father, San Francisco socialite Austin E. Hills, for having ‘been unemployed far longer than employed throughout his adult life’, a 2020 court filing said.  

Hills is best known in the San Francisco area for his failed political runs, after previously filing to run for San Francisco mayor in 2024 and district attorney in 2022, despite not being a lawyer.  

Court records cited by the San Francisco Chronicle said Hills suffers from bipolar disorder. 

Hills’ great-grandfather and great-uncle were the founders of the Hills Bros. Coffee company in the late 1800s, before it was bought by Nestle in the 1980s. 

It was later bought by Sara Lee in 1999 and then Massimo Zanetti in 2006, and expanded to a national product bought by millions of Americans. 

Hills reportedly admitted to police when he was arrested that he was the driver of the Land Rover, but alleged that it was the Tesla driver who was driving erratically. 

Hills, 45, who is the heir to the Hills Bros. Coffee company fortune, is facing charges of assault with a deadly weapon and evading an officer following a spree on the streets of San Francisco on Thursday

Public records note Hills’ residence at a $12.5 million townhouse next to Alta Plaza Park in San Francisco (pictured) 

The heir to the Hills Bros. Coffee fortune, Hills was previously slated by his own father, San Francisco socialite Austin E. Hills (pictured), for having ‘been unemployed far longer than employed throughout his adult life’

He said the Kia driver blocked him in before they accidentally collided, and claimed that he had no recollection of fleeing from police, saying his lack of memory was due to ‘stress’.

Court records said he ‘showed no remorse for his actions’, and he was booked into the Santa Rita Jail. 

Public records note Hills’ residence at a $12.5 million townhouse next to Alta Plaza Park in San Francisco, however the Chronicle reported that he listed his residence in court records at a lavish wedding venue in Napa wine country. 

He is the eldest son of Austin E. Hills, a socialite and the co-founder and chairman of Grgich Hills Estate, a winery in Napa Valley. 

His father said in a scathing court filing in 2020 that his son, ‘has a checkered employment history, having been unemployed far longer than employed throughout his adult life’.

According to court records cited by the Chronicle, prosecutors said Hills has an ‘extensive and violent criminal history’, that includes arrests for assault with a deadly weapon, suspicion of arson, and several firearms offenses. 

His rap sheet dates back to 2009 and includes 11 criminal cases in San Francisco, and his most recent case in July 2024 was referred to a mental health authority. 

A friend described Hills as a ‘sweetheart’ who had suffered from bouts of mental illness in recent years, and said when he was off his medication he would suffer manic episodes where he would drive recklessly

The friend added that Hills was very attached to his Land Rover, and described it as ‘his identity’. The image shows a Land Rover from Hills’ social media, although it is not clear if this was the same vehicle used in the episode last week 

A confidant of Hills, who remained anonymous, told the Chronicle that she knew him to be a ‘sweetheart’ who had suffered from bouts of mental illness in recent years. 

She said when he was off his medication he would suffer manic episodes where he would drive recklessly and would rage at other motorists, but had not seen anything as serious as his alleged spree a week ago. 

The friend added that Hills was very attached to his Land Rover, and described it as ‘his identity.’