It's been nearly two years since the vehicular manslaughter death of 57-year-old Konstantinos “Gus” Vardakastanis, founder of the Gus's Community Market mini-chain in San Francisco. And now authorities have detained a suspect in the unsolved hit-and-run.
20-year-old Eleasia Fraise was arrested last week by U.S. Marshals in Stockton, as KPIX/CBS SF reports, on suspicion of hit-and-run with injury, gross vehicular manslaughter, arson, and conspiracy, as well as driving without a license. She is in the process of being transferred to the county jail in San Francisco.
As SFist reported at the time, Vardakastanis was struck and killed just after 2 a.m. on September 22, 2017 outside the Wholesale Produce Market, at the intersection of Jerrold Avenue and Toland Street. The death shook the community at the market, where Vardakastanis had been buying produce for his stores four times a week for decades.
The vehicle involved, described at the time as a silver sedan with windshield and front-end damage, was driving at a high rate of speed through the intersection, and police at the time suggested that it may have been linked to a shooting that had occurred nearby around the same time.
Vardakastanis and his family have owned the quartet of Gus's markets in San Francisco for over 30 years, having first opened Haight-Ashbury Produce in 1981. They most recently opened a location at 1101 4th Street in Mission Bay, but have three other locations at 2111 Harrison, 1530 Haight, and Noriega Produce at 3821 Noriega.
Previously: Hit-And-Run Driver Claims Life Of Gus Vardakastanis, Founder Of Gus's Markets
Photo via Instagram/Edible SF