The 30-year-old man who allegedly ran into and then ran over an elderly woman in SoMa on Monday has now been charged with murder.

The San Francisco District Attorney's Office has confirmed the details that were shown in a graphic video posted to social media of Monday's incident near the intersection of Mission Street and South Van Ness. And 30-year-old Valentino Cash Amil is now officially facing a murder charge, with an enhancement for the use of a deadly weapon, in addition to one count of felony hit-and-run.

As the DA's office announced this morning, Amil was was scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment at 1:30 pm Thursday, and the office said it would be making a motion for Amil to be detained without bail pending trial.

Investigators say that Amil was driving his black 2024 Mercedes Benz E350 sedan on April 13, and had just gased up at the Chevron station at 1601 Mission Street. He was allegedly "driving with his window down toward the exit and slowly started to merge into traffic on Mission Street while partially blocking the sidewalk."

That is when the still unidentified 74-year-old victim approached the car, investigators say, "seeming to take exception with Mr. Amil blocking the sidewalk."

As seen in the video, Amil and the victim exchanged words, and the victim walked from side of the car to the front of it. Court documents say that the victim then "spilled liquid onto the hood of Mr. Amil’s car from a water bottle," which apparently angered Amil enough that he accelerated into the victim, knocking her onto the hood of the Mercedes.

Investigators say that Amil then "decelerated and the victim slid off the hood, landing directly in front of the car." And witnesses say that Amil then drove forward, running over the victim without stopping.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene by arriving medics about 10 minutes laer.

This Instagram account identifies the victim as Dannielle Spillman, a trans woman who was not, as initial reports suggested, unhoused. Initial reports from police and today's announcement from the DA appear to have misgendered Spillman, but an official identification of the victim has not been shared by the city coroner.

Amil was then apprehended some blocks away "without incident," the DA's office says, despite some initial reports that he gave chase from police. Early reports also said that Amil had a child in the car with him at the time.

Although charges have been filed, this is still an active investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the SFPD tip line at 415-575-4444, or text a tip to TIP411 and begin the message with “SFPD.” Tipsters can remain anonymous.

Previously: Video Suggests SoMa Hit-and-Run Death Was Intentional

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

This post has been corrected throughout to reflect the correct gender of the victim, per the Instagram account.

A Richmond man charged in a 2024 fatal hit-and-run in San Pablo failed to appear in court in January after the judge reduced his bail last year, and a $1 million bench warrant was issued for his arrest.

In 2024, Charles Michael Johnson III, 30, of Richmond, was charged with murder in connection to the fatal hit-and-run of 51-year-old Ernesto Reyes, who was walking near 23rd & California in San Pablo. As Bay Area News Group reports, Johnson was on parole for a prior conviction for evading police at the time, which involved running over a police officer’s foot.

KPIX reported at the time that the crash occurred on the evening of August 24, 2024, near Richmond High School along the San Pablo-Richmond city limits. Officers found Reyes lying in the street with major injuries, and he died at the scene.

Investigators determined that a silver Dodge Charger, allegedly driven by Johnson, was speeding southbound on 23rd Street when it suddenly veered into the northbound lane, striking the pedestrian who was in the street. The Charger then fled the scene at a high speed, police said. Police reportedly suspected Johnson was racing another car.

He was later arrested and booked into the Martinez Detention Facility on charges of vehicular manslaughter and felony hit-and-run. According to KTVU’s Henry Lee on X, the Contra Costa County District Attorney charged Johnson with murder and hit-and-run that September.

In May 2025, Johnson’s lawyer had his bail lowered from $2.2 million to $200,000, so Johnson could help his unwell mother, while checking in with the court during regular appointments. Deputy Public Defender Tim Ahearn claimed in a bail motion that Johnson was fleeing another car being driven by an armed individual in a mask.

“Although the prosecution alleges that Mr. Johnson was racing another car at high speed when the incident occurred, Mr. Johnson informed the police that he was fleeing a car driven by a masked individual who pointed a gun at him,” said Deputy Public Defender Tim Ahearn, who claimed the charges were overblown, per Bay Area News Group.

Johnson reportedly kept up his appointments for six months, until January when he failed to appear before the judge, who issued a $1 million bench warrant that’s still active, based on court records. A new court date was set for July.

Image: Eugene Zelenko/Wikimedia

Carl Jones, Jr., who grew up in SF’s Fillmore District, was fatally shot on Sixth Street on March 3, and a neighbor who rescued Jones’s dog Teddy G at the scene collaborated with others to reunite him with one of Jones’s siblings.

As Mission Local reports, 43-year-old Jones lived at the Henry Hotel on Sixth Street with his small dog Teddy Graham. In the early morning of March 3, Jones was shot near Sixth and Mission streets in the SoMa neighborhood.

Neighbor Charles Toyner told Mission Local he was walking up Sixth Street when he heard two shots and quickly hid behind a pole. He then saw Teddy G run across the street in distress. Toyner caught Teddy G and told officers he’d take care of him.

Jones died at a hospital shortly after the shooting, and police arrested 33-year-old suspect Siaosi Aleamotuay later that day.

As Bay City News reports, the San Francisco District Attorney's Office charged Aleamotuay with murder, along with an allegation that he personally used a deadly firearm, and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to prosecutors, Aleamotuay was seen on surveillance footage removing a gun from his backpack, crossing the street, and shooting Jones, who didn’t appear to be armed, per Bay City News. A possible motive has not been released.

Mission Local reports that Jones grew up in San Francisco’s Fillmore neighborhood with his siblings, and his family sometimes struggled with food and stable housing.

Jones lost both of his parents as a teenager. His father died when he was 16, and his mother died two years later. He spent time in the foster care system and eventually lived at Edgewood, a group home in the Ingleside neighborhood, per Mission Local.

Despite those challenges, Jones excelled in school and earned a 4.0 grade point average, particularly in reading and English. His sister told Mission Local he toured several historically Black colleges and universities and had the potential to attend nearly any school he wanted, but life circumstances ultimately got in the way.

“He never lost his big heart,” she said. “He was always loving. He always had a smile on his face. He would give you advice, and it would always be supportive.”

Mission Local reports that after the shooting, Toyner contacted the Gubbio Project for help locating Jones's family. Outreach worker Terry Morris told Mission Local Jones was remembered for having “bright eyes” and a warm, approachable presence. Morris also recalled how devoted Jones was to Teddy G.

Rio Amor, a drug-overdose educator and substance-abuse specialist at the nonprofit, helped Toyner track down Jones’s relatives. In the meantime, people who met Teddy G offered to adopt him.

Per Mission Local, Amor reached Jones’s sister Amelia in San Jose the following day, and she and other relatives drove to San Francisco to bring the dog home.

Photo of Carl Jones via Amelia Jones/Mission Local

Authorities are now saying that Avtar Singh, the 57-year-old Tracy man who was found dead in Napa's Lake Berryessa after going missing near his home, was likely not the intended target of his abductors and killers.

The disturbing story of a father of three newborns who was apparently abducted in Tracy last Tuesday and turned up dead in Lake Berryessa on Friday has taken a more troubling turn, as investigators now believe he was not the person whom his killers intended to abduct.

San Joaquin County Sheriff Patrick Withrow told KCRA this week that his detectives are seeking help from the public as they try to figure out who the intended target was.

"This was not a random act," Withrow said, speaking to KCRA. "They were targeted after another individual for a specific reason and we're hoping that reason comes to the light."

Surveillance video shows Singh being forced into a white SUV on Tuesday, February 17, near the Gurdwara Gur Nanak Parkash temple along West Grant Line Road in Tracy. The video appears to show Singh trying to resist, but being overtaken by three men.

Singh reportedly lived and worked at the Sikh temple as a volunteer cook, and when he was taken, he had three small children — newborn triplets — in his care. Per KCRA, Singh was reported missing when his wife came home from work Tuesday evening around 8:50 pm to find the infants left alone at their home.

A temple spokesperson, Deep Singh, tells the station, "The kids were alone. God's blessing. They were safe, but they were alone."

The spokesperson adds, "He was very sincere and hard working. For 23 years, his main role was the head cook at our gurudwara, at the temple, but he was not only a cook, he was a multi-tasking person."

Deep Singh further explains that Avtar and his wife had recently been celebrated at the temple after the triplets had been born premature, and had only recently come home from the hospital. "It was a big celebration," he tells KCRA. "He was happy, mom was happy, and the community was happy. We're not going to be able to repair her loss."

The children are now reportedly six months old.

A GoFundMe for Singh's wife and triplets has so far raised over $427,000. "Raising even one child as a single mother is challenging — and with three infants, the responsibility is immense," the GoFundMe description says.

The San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office is investigating the case as a homicide, and has not released any further details about any possible motive, or the intended target of the suspects.  Anyone with information is urged to contact the office at 209-468-4400.

Previously: Body of Man Found In Lake Berryessa Suspected to Be Victim of Kidnapping

A measly dime-bag of pot deal gone wrong left three men dead in Oakland last month, and now the marijuana dealer has been arrested too, but boy did he have a lengthy list of priors.

We’ve noted that New Year's weekend was an especially deadly period in Oakland, with two separate homicides on New Year’s Day, and then a triple-murder outside the Sky Market liquor store at roughly 3 am the morning of Saturday, January 3. And as we said in previous coverage, that liquor store triple-homicide was merely over a street marijuana deal gone bad.  

That senseless loss of life becomes even more senseless, as new information has come to light. The Bay Area News Group is now reporting that the entire conflict that left three men dead was “motivated by a conflict over a $10 marijuana deal.”

As KTVU explains, that new information is coming to light because a third man has been arrested in connection with the triple-homicide. That suspect is the alleged marijuana street dealer, 58-year-old Jamaal Myers. Myers did not pull the trigger or kill anyone, but he was carrying a gun on him at the time. According to KTVU, “Myers has nine prior felony convictions, including two for assault, and several prior gun convictions, and is legally barred from possessing guns.”  

Myers has pleaded not guilty, and has been released after posting $100,000 bail.

The man who allegedly did pull the trigger, and is accused of killing the three victims, is 40-year-old Darrell Tatmon. Tatmon is facing three counts of murder, and could potentially face life in prison with enhancements.

A third suspect, 37-year-old Angelo Lemelle Pharr, was also arrested and has been charged with assault.

Two of the victims killed were brothers, Luis Valdez-Gomez and Kevin Andrew Valdez-Gomez, who were buying the marijuana outside the liquor store. The brother Kevin reportedly did draw his own gun once the conflict between the dealer and the customers started. The third victim, 54-year-old Miguel Ramirez, was merely an innocent bystander who happened to be shopping in the store at the time, and was caught in the crossfire.  

Related: East Bay Man Charged With Triple-Murder Over East Oakland Liquor Store Pot Deal Gone Bad [SFist]

Image: Google Street View

A mother and son were both found dead inside a Pleasanton home on Wednesday, and the circumstances of their deaths remains unclear.

Gunshots were heard coming from a home on the 3100 block of Joanne Circle in Pleasanton around 10:05 am Wednesday, as Bay Area News Group reports.

Arriving officers found the 67-year-old mother and her 28-year-old son both with multiple gunshot wounds, and they were pronounced dead at the scene.

The police have not described any assailant, though it's not clear if a suspect is being sought.

As KRON4 reports, the home in question is across the street from Ken Mercer Sports Park. A neighbor told the station they were "devastated" by the news.

In a release Wednesday night, Pleasanton police Lieutenant Nicholas Albert said, "We believe there is no immediate threat to the Pleasanton community. This is an active investigation, and no additional information is available at this time.”

Albert added that anyone with any information about the shooting is urged to contact the department at 925-931-5100.

The three men accused in the killing of security guard Kevin Nishita while he was on the job and protecting a KRON4 news crew have all pleaded guilty, though only the one who pulled the trigger is being charged with murder.

A few years back when crime was much worse in the Bay Area and every city seemed to hate its District Attorney, one of the many killings that galvanized public sentiment against then-Alameda County DA Pamela Price was the 2021 daylight murder of security guard Kevin Nishita. Nishita was a retired Colma and San Jose police officer who was providing security for a KRON4 news team that was doing a segment on a masked mob breaking into an Oakland clothing store. Nishita was shot in the chest when a trio of suspects tried to steal the news crew’s camera equipment.

The case was originally charged by Price's predecessor Nancy O’Malley, but Price was seen to have been botching the prosecution when she took office and then concluded that a different alleged gang member was the one who pulled the trigger. And then she declined to file sentencing enhancements that would have lengthened the three suspects’ prison sentences.  

But now, more than four years after the killing, it appears all three will get plenty long prison sentences. KTVU reports that all three suspects have pleaded guilty to the crime, though only the man who pulled the trigger, Laron Gilbert, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. Gilbert is expected to be sentenced to 30 years to life.

Gilbert, you may recall, fled to Kansas City and was not arrested and extradited back until 2024. Two other suspects, Sahdihia Mitchell and Hershel Hale, only pleaded no contest to lesser charges of robbery. Their potential sentences are less clear.

The murder trial would have started within about three weeks.

Related: Alameda County DA Pursuing Murder Charges Against Men Accused of Killing Retired Officer Kevin Nishita [SFist]

Image: Town of Colma

A 40-year-old man is charged with shooting and killing three people at the Sky Market corner store in Oakland's Woodland neighborhood, and the whole dispute was apparently an illicit marijuana deal gone wrong.

When everyone returned to work after the New Year’s Day holiday, we noted that there had been two separate homicides on New Year’s Day in Oakland. That pattern regrettably continued into the new year, as three people were shot and killed on January 3 in East Oakland, at 3 am at the Sky Market corner store at 85th Avenue and International Boulevard.    

But the Oakland Police Department finally has their suspect in that one, as KTVU reports that the OPD has arrested 40-year-old Darrell Tatmon.  Tatmon is charged with three counts of murder, and could potentially face life in prison with enhancements.

The shooting spree took the lives of brothers Luis Valdez-Gomez and Kevin Andrew Valdez-Gomez, who were allegedly buying marijuana from a street dealer outside the corner store, and 54-year-old Miguel Ramirez, who was apparently just an innocent bystander who got caught in the crossfire.  

The circumstances of the shooting remain vague. The alleged marijuana dealer was reportedly a friend of Tatmon's, and some sort of dispute broke out between the Valdez-Gomez brothers and the dealer. (The weed deal transaction was apparently caught by store surveillance cameras.)

Tatmon allegedly jumped in and punched one of the brothers once the dispute escalated, and the Valdez-Gomez brother was holding a gun, which he then whipped out. Police say that Tatmon then whipped out his own gun, and the Valdez-Gomez brother fired first. Tatmon then allegedly shot and killed both Valdez-Gomez brothers and the 54-year-old innocent bystander.

KTVU reports that "What started the initial altercation was unclear, but police said audio indicates Tatmon felt the brothers had disrespected him and derided them as 'Millennials.'"

According to the Bay Area News Group, Tatmon was scheduled to be arraigned today, and is currently being held without bail at Dublin’s Santa Rita Jail.

Related: Oakland Opens New Year With Two Homicides, One Suspect Arrested [SFist]

Image: Google Street View

The man caught on video shoving 84-year-old "Grandpa Vicha" Ratanapakdee to his death in 2021 has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter — but not murder, likely meaning a much shorter prison sentence.

A full five years after the January 2021 killing of 84-year-old ‘Grandpa Vicha’ Ratanapakdee in a seemingly unprovoked sidewalk attack in the Anza Vista neighborhood, the trial of the accused killer Antoine Watson just started last month. And there was never any dispute that Watson shoved Ratanapakdee to his death, as the whole episode was captured on surveillance video. (Note: That video is disturbing.)

Watson was charged with first-degree murder and elder abuse. But when the jury’s verdict in that trial came in early Thursday evening, it was a mixed bag at best for the victim’s family. The Chronicle reports that the jury found Watson not guilty of murder or elder abuse, and instead convicted him on just the lesser charges of involuntary manslaughter and assault.

The difference with the lesser charges is critical. As the Chronicle explains, the involuntary manslaughter conviction comes with just a four-year prison sentence, as does the assault charge.

Watson could face additional enhancements that could add as many as five years onto his sentence. But still, this is a substantially shorter prison sentence than a murder conviction would have brought.

Ratanapakdee’s daughter, Monthanus Ratanapakdee told reporters after the verdict was delivered that she was “deeply disappointed.”

“My father was an 84-year-old man who was attacked while simply walking in his neighborhood, and that loss can never be undone,” she said. “At the same time, I acknowledge the conviction for involuntary manslaughter and assault, which affirms that my father’s death mattered and that harm was done. Our family is grieving, and we will continue to honor my father’s life and advocate for the safety and dignity of our elders.”

The Chronicle has the additional courtroom detail that when “San Francisco Superior Court Judge Linda Colfax read the verdict, Watson was hugged by his attorneys. His mother, Angela Watson, sobbed from the gallery. “

The SF Public Defender’s Office defending Watson must have made a decent case that this was not a murder. The jury only deliberated for a reported six hours before delivering their verdict.

The defense argued that Watson did not premeditate the killing, but that instead it was an "impulsive act during an emotional storm,” in the words of deputy public defender Anita Nabha said. The Chronicle has a lengthy account of the night Watson had before that early-morning fatal shove, a night peppered with family argments, run-ins with the police, his car breaking down, and ultimately, a rage-fueled push that killed an elderly stranger.

“In that moment, I wasn’t thinking," Watson claimed on the stand. "Looking back at it, I think I did push him hard.” Antoine Watson was 19 years old at the time of the killing.

Per the Chronicle, the case remains incompletely decided. The jury is set to reconvene in late January to consider the other lesser charges in the case. And it is currently unclear when Watson will be sentenced.

Related: SF Getting Another Mosaic Tiled Stairway, This One In Anza Vista, as a Tribute to ‘Grandpa Vicha’ Ratanapakdee [SFist]

Image: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 02: People walk past a mural reading 'Justice For Vicha' on July 02, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. Vicha Ratanapakdee was an 84-year-old immigrant from Thailand who suffered a deadly assault while out for a walk in January in San Francisco. Family members believe the assault was racially motivated. Hate crimes committed against Asians climbed 107 percent in 2020 in California, according to a report from California’s attorney general. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

In a packed SF Superior Court room, SF filmmaker Kevin Epps was found not guilty of the murder of his one-time brother-in-law, but was still found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, which comes with a three- to eleven-year prison sentence.

The murder trial of SF filmmaker Kevin Epps, best known for his critically acclaimed 2003 documentary film Straight Outta Hunters Point and co-creating the 2004 Showtime movie Sucker Free City with Spike Lee, concluded today in a SF Superior Court room. And NBC Bay Area reports that Epps was found not guilty of murder in the 2016 shooting and killing his own one-time brother-in-law Marcus Polk, who may or may not have been trespassing and threatening Epps’ family in their home at the time of the shooting. And that acquittal is surely a relief for Kevin Epps, as a guilty verdict could have put him in prison for life.

But as Mission Local points out, Epps was still found guilty of voluntary manslaughter. That charge describes a killing committed in a “sudden quarrel or heat of passion,” as Mission Local explains, and it could mean Epps still faces a prison sentence of three to eleven years.

"I just want to get back to some normalcy; this has been just too long," Epps told reporters and a crowd outside the courtroom, per NBC Bay Area. "The burden of this in your life has been so long, it's just been traumatizing."

Epps did indeed shoot and kill Marcus Polk in October 2016, and there has never been any dispute of that. Polk had made his way into Epps's family’s house in Glen Park on that day, at a time when Epps’s then-fiancée was Polk’s ex-wife’s sister. Polk was then-homeless and fresh out of jail on charges of lewd acts with a child, and was known to have serious drug issues. Epps said Polk was threatening him and his family, which led to the shooting.

Epps will still face those voluntary manslaughter charges, though his legal team vows to appeal that verdict. He was also found guilty of two counts of possessing a firearm as a felon, charges his legal team does not dispute.

Epps is out of custody until he’s sentenced for the voluntary manslaughter charges. NBC Bay Area reports that Epps will be sentenced on those charges within the next six weeks.

Related: Renowned SF Filmmaker Kevin Epps Went On Trial Today for 2016 Murder Charge [SFist]

Image: Kevin Epps via Facebook

Nearly five full years after the unprovoked killing of an 84-year-old Thai immigrant in Anza Vista, the long-delayed trial for the murder of Vicha Ratanapakdee got underway Monday at SF Superior Court.

It has been nearly five full years since the January 28, 2021 killing of 84-year-old ‘Grandpa Vicha’ Ratanapakdee in a seemingly unprovoked sidewalk attack in the Anza Vista neighborhood. The killing was captured on surveillance video, and became a rallying cry for the Recall Chesa Boudin movement when Ratanapakdee died from his injuries several days later. But the trial has been repeatedly delayed by legal motions filed, courtroom debates over the evidence that would be allowed, and Boudin’s recall itself even delayed the trial.

But KTVU reports that opening statements in the trial began on Monday. The man facing murder charges is Daly City resident Antoine Watson, who was 19 at the time of the killing. Watson is charged with murder, assault with a deadly weapon, and inflicting injury on an elder likely to cause great bodily injury. Former DA Boudin took a lot of heat for not pressing hate crime charges on this case, though new DA Brooke Jenkins is not pressing hate crime charges either.

Still, debates over Watson’s motivations will have an outsize impact on whether Watson is indeed found guilty of murder.

"The defense is claiming this was somewhat of an impulsive act -- that it was not premeditated or planned,” legal analyst Steven Clark told KGO. “And for the prosecution, they're saying hitting an 84-year-old man is implied malice and you're guilty of murder.”

KTVU was on hand in the courtroom for Monday’s opening statements, and some evidence was presented as well. One SFPD officer testified about being called to the scene that day, and finding Ratanapakdee injured and lying in a pool of his own blood. Jurors were shown a photo of Ratanapakdee in that condition.

"It could have happened to me,” neighbor Ruby Tsang told KTVU outside the courtroom “I was there. I missed it by a few minutes. I could have been pushed down like that too.”

The trial for the murder of Vicha Ratanapakdee continues in SF Superior Court, and is expected to last until at least mid-January, with a break for the holidays.

Related: SF Getting Another Mosaic Tiled Stairway, This One In Anza Vista, as a Tribute to ‘Grandpa Vicha’ Ratanapakdee [SFist]

Image: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JULY 02: People walk past a mural reading 'Justice For Vicha' on July 02, 2021 in Los Angeles, California. Vicha Ratanapakdee was an 84-year-old immigrant from Thailand who suffered a deadly assault while out for a walk in January in San Francisco. Family members believe the assault was racially motivated. Hate crimes committed against Asians climbed 107 percent in 2020 in California, according to a report from California’s attorney general. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

A strange twist in the investigation of the murder of the Condor Club strip joint manager, as while the shooting happened in Santa Rosa, police now believe that the murder weapon may be lying at the bottom of Lake Merritt.

The early October murder of Condor Club manager Mark Calcagni happened outside Calcagni’s home in Santa Rosa nearly two months ago. Police arrested two former Condor Club employees, 43-year-old Richard Anthony Lund and 25-year-old Asia Lozano Morton, alleging that they had it in for Calcagni because he had fired both of them from the strip club. So there is a working theory on a motive, but still no murder weapon.

That murder weapon may be out there. KTVU reports that police received a tip that the gun may have been dumped in Oakland’s Lake Merritt after the shooting, and they now have dive teams operating in Lake Merritt, searching for that weapon possibly being there.

"We received information potentially that evidence, a firearm, was located in the lake," Santa Rosa Police Sergeant Brandon Matthies told KTVU. "They are utilizing their dive team and search-and-rescue teams to search the bottom of the lake searching for evidence relating to our homicide."

That said, authorities did not indicate whether they had found the weapon, and have not given a timeline for the search.

There have been other developments with the two former employees facing charges over the shooting. While Lund was charged with performing the murder, his alleged female accomplice Morton was charged as an accessory to murder. She had originally pleaded not guilty in late October, the Bay Area News Group reports she’s changed her plea to no contest. That means Morton will waive her right to a jury trial.

And that may indicate a split between the two suspects, in terms of legal defense strategies at least. It could even entail Morton flipping on Lund, and giving authorities damning testimony about him. Either way, Lund remains in custody at Sonoma County Jail, while Morton is not in jail, but required to wear a GPS ankle monitor. She is scheduled to be sentenced on January 15, 2026.

Related: Condor Club General Manager Shot and Killed Outside His Santa Rosa Home [SFist]

Image: Chantilly A via Yelp

It’s actually two consecutive life sentences for the 25-year-old man found guilty of brutally beating and killing 88-year-old Yik Oi Huang in Visitacion Valley in January 2019, and then robbing her house immediately afterwards.

SF’s Vistacion Valley neighborhood was shocked by the January 2019 fatal beating 88-year–old Yik Oi Huang, popularly known as “Popo Huang” around the neighborhood. She was ruthlessly bludgeoned on her daily early morning walk at Visitacion Valley Playground, found bloodied in a sandbox with head injuries, a broken spine, broken hand, and broken ribs. Her shirt was pulled up and pants pulled down below beneath her waist, shoes stolen, and her house keys stolen too.

On top of that, the suspect then went straight to her house and burglarized it. Huang spent a year in the hospital before dying from these injuries.

That suspect, now-25-year-old Keonte Gathron, was actually on a 13-day crime bender that also included the gunpoint robbery of teens’ cellphones and a couple of carjackings. Gathron was found guilty of all these crimes earlier this month.  

On Tuesday, KTVU reports that Gathron was sentenced to 31 years in prison plus two life sentences (one of those life sentences comes without the possibility of parole).

“Mr. Gathron is now being held accountable for his heinous crimes that targeted vulnerable victims and will spend the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole,” District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in a statement. “While nothing can bring Grandma Huang back to her family, today’s sentence hopefully leaves the victims and their families with a sense that justice was done for all that they have endured.”

Though as NBC Bay Area points out, “The judge postponed sentencing until next week because the defendant had not received a presentence report.” That said, it’s going to be the exact same SF Superior Court Judge Eric Fleming doing the sentencing, so this seems like a technicality. Gathron will be formally sentenced Wednesday, December 3.

Huang’s grandson Jeremy Lu told KTVU outside the courtroom after the sentencing, "It cannot bring back our grandma, and this will last forever. However, her love still remains.”

Gathron has been found guilty of murder, two counts of carjacking, eight counts of robbery, elder abuse, child endangerment , and a few other gun charges. Police say he intentionally targeted Asian seniors and kids who spoke little or no English.

Once the case went to trial, Gathron represented himself, largely accusing police of manipulating evidence. His arguments apparently went nowhere with the jury, nor the sentencing judge.

"I’ve suffered a lot myself. I could relate to the pain, loss, suffering," Gathron said when addressing the court, according to KTVU. "I've experienced that my entire life, so I understand, and I understand they feel and think I'm responsible, so I don't have any ill feelings."

The tragic loss of the 88-year-old grandmother Yik Oi Huang has been acknowledged at the park where she was fatally attacked, as that park has since been renamed the Yik Oi Huang Peace and Friendship Park.

Related: SF Man Found Guilty of Murdering 88-Year–Old Grandmother in Vis Valley Park, Plus Many Other Robberies, Carjackings [SFist]

Image: @ratanapakdee via Twitter

It appears there are some mental health issues with the 27-year-old man accused of fatally shooting Laney College coach John Beam, as he reportedly told investigators that he shot Beam because he thought Beam was performing witchcraft on him.

Tributes continue pouring in for legendary former Skyline High and Laney College football coach John Beam, who died on Friday after being shot on the Laney College campus early Thursday afternoon. There are a handful of players in the NFL right now who played for Beam in college, including Chicago Bears cornerback Nashon Wright, who made an interception Sunday, and dropped to a knee in an emotional tribute to his mentor Beam.

Nashon Wright’s homage to Coach Beam can be seen below. But closer to home at the site of Beam’s fatal shooting at Laney College, police had arrested 27-year-old Cedric Irving Jr for the shooting early Friday morning. On Monday, Alameda County prosecutors announced they were charging Irving with first-degree murder for the killing, as well as additional gun charges.  

Early reports were that Irving confessed to the killing pretty much immediately once he was located by police. Now the Chronicle reports on an additional puzzling aspect of the killing, which is that the alleged shooter Irving claimed that Beam was performing witchcraft on him.  

“The man accused of shooting and killing legendary Oakland football coach and Laney College Athletic Director John Beam last week told investigators he thought Beam had been using witchcraft on him and others,” according to the Chronicle. “Police believe Irving had a ‘fixation’ on Beam.”

Irving had never played for Beam, as Irving played high school football at Skyline High School some ten years ago. Beam left Skyline High for Laney College in 2004, though often visited the high school and was given a hero’s welcome, having won 15 league championships there.

Investigators say that after the shooting, Irving simply hopped on an AC Transit bus toward an area near Oakland’s Eastmont Mall, where Irving is reportedly currently living unsheltered. When police tracked Irving down around 3 am Friday morning, they say he was not surprised about being questioned, freely admitted to the killing, and also acknowledged that he owned the murder weapon, a gun he was carrying in his own duffle bag.

Irving is being held without bail at Santa Rita Jail, and is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday in an Alameda County court.

Related: Football Coach John Beam Has Died After Being Shot Thursday at Laney College [SFist]

Image via Netflix

The suspect in the fatal beating of 88-year–old grandmother Yik Oi Huang has just been found guilty, and for good measure, he was also found guilty of robbing her house afterward, plus a slew of other robberies and carjackings.

The January 2019 beating 88-year–old Yik Oi Huang, popularly known as Popo Huang around her Visitacion Valley neighborhood, seemed a particularly brutal example of elder abuse. Huang was badly bludgeoned after the early morning attack at Visitacion Valley Playground, where she was found bloodied in a sandbox with head injuries, a broken spine, broken hand, and broken ribs. Her shirt had been pulled up and her pants pulled down below beneath her waist, her shoes stolen, and her house keys stolen too. To make matters worse, the suspect in the case was then accused of heading straight to her house and burglarizing it.

Huang spent a year in Laguna Honda Hospital recovering, though died from her injuries there after nearly a full year.

The suspect, now-25-year-old Keonte Gathron of San Francisco (who was 18 at the time of the attack), was accused of being on a 13-day crime bender. Those accusations include the gunpoint robbery of teens’ cellphones, a couple carjackings, and multiple other robberies. According to the SF DA's office, Gathron targeted victims who spoke “little or no English. Each victim was selected because they were alone, distracted and small."

All of those accusations have now been proven in court. The Chronicle reports that Gathron has been found guilty on 16 counts including first-degree murder in a jury trial that wrapped Tuesday.

"We are pleased to announce Mr. Gathron has been found guilty of numerous counts,” SF District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in a statement to KGO. “Most importantly in the murder of Mrs. Huang, an 88-year-old grandmother who simply out doing her morning exercise. He is now being held accountable, finally, after so many years for this family having to wait to receive justice."

It is possible that some untreated mental illness could be at play in the case of Gathron. As the Chronicle reported from the courtroom last month, Gathron represented himself at trial, and his main argument in his own defense was that Muni surveillance video of him that was shown to the jury was altered using artificial intelligence.

Gathron faces a possible sentence of life in prison, and he’s scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday, November 25.

The tragic loss of the grandmother Yik Oi Huang was acknowledged at the park where she was attacked, which has since been renamed the Yik Oi Huang Peace and Friendship Park.

Related: Murder Charges Possible After Death of 89-Year-Old Woman Beaten in Visitacion Valley [SFist]

Image: @ratanapakdee via Twitter