A 26-year-old man who was just arrested in connection with a homicide that occurred in the Portola neighborhood last week was previously arrested and charged as a juvenile in a Muni robbery that made headlines a decade ago.
Fagamalama Pasene, 26, was arrested Tuesday along with 19-year-old Zion Young in what police are calling a botched robbery that turned into murder. As the Examiner reports, the pair were booked on multiple charges including murder and attempted robbery, in connection with the May 7 killing of 19-year-old Kelvin Chew.
Chew was found just after 8 p.m. last Thursday near Felton and Colby streets suffering from a gunshot wound, and he died at the scene. It was SF's 17th homicide of the year so far.
Young may have been the gunman in this case, as records show that he is being held on suspicion of murder, attempted first degree robbery, possession of a firearm by a felon, and conspiracy. Pasene is being held on suspicion of first degree attempted robbery, conspiracy, murder, and being an accessory after the fact.
Pasene was arrested along with several other teens in October 2009, when he was 16 years old, after 18-year-old local actor Christopher Borgzinner was robbed and assaulted on a Muni bus. As NBC Bay Area reported, Borgzinner, who was at the time set to appear in an independent film shot in the Mission District starring Benjamin Bratt titled La Mission, was robbed of his wallet and iPod and beaten up by four youths who first asked if his red sneakers indicated gang membership.
Pasene was initially charged as an adult, as the Examiner reported, which explains why his name was released to the media even though he was 16 at the time. But according to SFGate, when 19-year-old fellow suspect Uluoa Mase pleaded guilty in the case a year later, the younger suspects had been charged as juveniles.
No court date has yet been set for Pasene or Young.
Related: 19-Year-Old Man Killed in Portola, Marking SF's 17th Homicide of the Year