Crime and Law

Inside Out

Anthony Wright Arrested on Suspicion of Shooting Bernal Heights Man in the Head

​Update (4:50 p.m.) Police arrested 34-year-old Anthony Wright on suspicion of killing a 28-year-old man who has not yet been identified. Media outlets are reporting that the victim was playing video games with his friends when Wright arrived and shot him in the head. Update (11:00 a.m.) Officer A ... More >>

Ernesto Manuel Gonzalez Accused of Killing Hells Angels President

​UCSF police last night arrested an alleged motorcycle gang member on suspicion of shooting and killing the president of the San Jose Hells Angels while at a casino in Nevada last week. Ernesto Manuel Gonzalez, who is purportedly a member of the Vagos motorcycle gang, was taken into custody at abo ... More >>

Pelican Bay Hunger Strike: Lawyers Turn to Gov. Jerry Brown for Help

You won't get Starbucks in solitary confinement ​Yesterday marked the first official day of the hunger strike taking place at eight prisons across the state, with as many as 4,000 inmates refusing state-issued meals. In response, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation issued a ... More >>

San Francisco One of the Few California Towns with Room for Prisoners

You won't get Starbucks in solitary confinement ​Yesterday marked the first official day of the hunger strike taking place at eight prisons across the state, with as many as 4,000 inmates refusing state-issued meals. In response, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation issued a ... More >>

DNA Lab Memo at Center of Legal Battle in Gruesome 1976 Murder Case

AFP/Getty ImagesRockne Harmon​A secret internal memo criticizing DNA analysis procedures at the San Francisco Police Department crime lab has become an issue in prosecutors' efforts to obtain a conviction based on DNA evidence in the grisly rape and murder of a San Francisco woman in 1976.San Fran ... More >>

Gun Violence Continues: Man Shot in Ingleside District

More gun violence​A 18-year-old man is in critical condition after he was shot yesterday morning while driving through the Ingleside neighborhood. Police say the victim and another man were driving along San Jose and Geneva avenues at about 11:17 a.m. yesterday when two men in another vehicle drov ... More >>

Another Shooting in the Mission

What's up with all this violence in the Mission?​A man was critically injured after being shot in the Mission District, marking the fourth shooting in a weeklong streak of gun violence in the neighborhood. Police issued very few details about yesterday's shooting, which occurred at shortly before ... More >>

Dwayne Spruell Identified as Man Killed in Labor Day Argument

Another homicide ​The man who was shot and killed Monday morning during a heated argument in the Mission District has been identified as 45-year-old Dwayne Spruell. Neighbors told reporters that they heard loud arguing sometime after 2 a.m. on Monday morning near Camp and Guerrero streets, where d ... More >>

Man Shot and Killed During Argument in the Mission; Homicide No. 35

Tex Texin via Flickr ​The Mission District suffered a grim holiday when a man was shot and killed Monday morning in what witnesses described as a heated argument. It's the neighborhood's third murder in the last seven days. Medical authorities told SF Weekly they have not yet identified the victim ... More >>

24 Hour Fitness Faces Racketeering Charges

Racketeering charges should get your heart rate pumping​While your body might be in good shape after joining 24 Hour Fitness, your bank account might not be quite as healthy. A class action lawsuit accuses the ubiquitous workout business of taking an extra month of fees from members when they canc ... More >>

Crime Lab Confidential: DA and SFPD Withheld Damaging Memo About DNA Lab Failings

Racketeering charges should get your heart rate pumping​While your body might be in good shape after joining 24 Hour Fitness, your bank account might not be quite as healthy. A class action lawsuit accuses the ubiquitous workout business of taking an extra month of fees from members when they canc ... More >>

Teen Shot to Death in Visitacion Valley; Homicide No. 31

Homicide in Visitaction Valley ​An 18-year-old man was shot to death while standing on the sidewalk in Visitacion Valley, police said. The man -- who has not yet been identified -- was standing at the 200 block of Rey Street at about 10 p.m. when two men approached him and fired several shots befo ... More >>

Bike Bandit Strikes Again

Just a note from a loving victim ​Earlier this week, we warned readers about the rash of bike thefts happening in the Inner Sunset. The thief appears to have migrated to Cole Valley, where there have been increased reports of a cycle crook.Police Captain Denis O'Leary told SF Weekly that the thief ... More >>

Bouncer Laments the Lack of Maniacs at Glen Park Station

Just a note from a loving victim ​Earlier this week, we warned readers about the rash of bike thefts happening in the Inner Sunset. The thief appears to have migrated to Cole Valley, where there have been increased reports of a cycle crook.Police Captain Denis O'Leary told SF Weekly that the thief ... More >>

Hate Crimes Against Latinos Rise 47 Percent in California

​The year 2010 saw a marked uptick in hate crimes against Latinos statewide, according to newly released statistics from the California Attorney General's office.Attorney General Kamala Harris' annual report on hate crimes -- incidents in which victims are targeted because of their ethnicity, sexu ... More >>

Letter to S.F. Presiding Judge Katherine Feinstein Says Clerks 'Betrayed' by Management

Just cuts?​An interesting subplot is emerging in the story of the severe budget cuts forcing the layoffs of San Francisco Superior Court employees and closure of civil courtrooms. An open letter to Presiding Judge Katherine Feinstein has surfaced that accuses court administrators of "gutting" the ... More >>

Civil Courts Are San Francisco's Newest Endangered Species

Like the California grizzly, another symbol of our state is about to die off: the civil courts.​The warnings of cuts are over. They're here -- for real -- and San Francisco's civil court system will soon be a cozy concept from a bygone era in which the state had the cash to fund such luxuries as ... More >>

Roller Derby Girls Robbed at Gunpoint

Rolling on ... ​Police are investigating a brazen crime where two members of the Bay Area Derby girls league were robbed at gunpoint after a bout earlier this month.  On the evening of July 9, the two members had packed up the money the league had raised from the event that night and drove ba ... More >>

Charles Hill BART Shooting Video

Acquiescing to public demand, BART today released surveillance videos of the shooting death of Charles Hill, a transient who was killed by transit police over the July 4 weekend, sparking raucous protests. Hill, 45, was shot on the Civic Center platform after purportedly menacing an officer with kni ... More >>

Kenneth Harding Update: Ten Shots Fired in Six Seconds in Bayview Shooting

SFPD​SFPD released a map today which shows the 10 shots fired in yesterday's Bayview shooting, where police officers shot and killed 19-year-old Kenneth Harding. Harding, who was chased by SFPD officers after he dodged paying his Muni fare, allegedly fired shots at police, who then retaliated wit ... More >>

Pelican Bay Hunger Strike: Supporters Plan to Rally, Possibly Disrupt the Evening Commute

Maybe commuters should start protesting protesters ​What we learned from the BART protest earlier this week is that activists can bring commute traffic to a screeching halt. Which is why we are delivering this warning now: Duck out of work early today unless you want to get stuck in yet another pr ... More >>

San Francisco MS-13 Informant Found Guilty of Lying

The government won its case against its own informant. ​The inside informant who turned evidence for the feds about his own MS-13 gang in San Francisco was found guilty this week of lying to the government.According to the complaint, Roberto Acosta had told his handlers that he'd only been the mes ... More >>

Pelican Bay Inmates on Hunger Strike Are Growing Weak and Sick, Activists Say

​The health conditions of inmates who are striking to protest conditions in the California state prison system's maximum-security units have "deteriorated to critical levels," and some prisoners could start to die if immediate action isn't taken, activists say.The strike began two weeks ago at the ... More >>

Sean Everette Wilson Identified as Man Shot in Hayes Valley

Victim identified ​Medical authorities have released the name of the man who was shot to death Monday night as 20-year-old Sean Everette Wilson of San Francisco. Wilson was on the 500 block of Webster when he was shot in the head, according to police. No arrests have been made.

Karl Henderson Killed in Ingleside; Homicide No. 29

man shot ​Medical authorities have identified the man who was shot to death in broad daylight this weekend as 23-year-old Karl Henderson. Henderson, a San Francisco resident, was shot in the chest Holloway and Brighton avenues sometime around 11:15 a.m. on Saturday, according to police.

Charles Hill Identified as Man Shot by BART Cops

Charles Hill was shot ​Medical authorities say Charles Hill, 45, was the man who was shot to death over the weekend by BART police. Hill "had no fixed address," according to the San Francisco Medical Examiner's Office. BART police shot Hill at the Civic Center BART station after getting calls abou ... More >>

California Death Sentences at 33-Year Low

​Fewer death sentences were handed down by California courts during the first half of 2011 than during any six-month period since 1978, according to a new report by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.Just three defendants were sentenced to death from January to June of this ... More >>

Drunk Drivers Hate Other Drunk Drivers

Everyone hates drunk drivers -- even drunks​Even the news that police are staging a DUI checkpoint the entire weekend starting Friday should be enough to sober you up. But just in case you still plan on hitting the bottle hard to celebrate America's Independence Day, here is some blunt advice: Don ... More >>

Barry Bonds Demands a Quick Retrial

Playing hardball ​Barry Bonds is making an appearance in San Francisco court today to request that if prosecutors plan to retry him, they do it quickly.The former Giants superstar was found guilty of obstruction of justice in April, yet the jury was deadlocked on three perjury counts, which led Ju ... More >>

Roberto Acosta, MS-13 Informant in San Francisco Gang Case, to Stand Trial for Lying

The government will soon see its rat in court. ​It's not every day that the government charges their own criminal informant with lying. That's exactly what happened with Roberto Acosta, an MS-13 gang leader who infiltrated the gang which had claimed turf near 20th Street in the Mission District. A ... More >>

Criminal Cases Would Be Less Affected by S.F. Court Layoffs

​California's oft-discussed governmental dysfunction is starting to take its toll. Public access to our state's natural resources is already on the chopping block; on Friday, more ominous news arrived about public access to justice. In light of the budget approved last week by the state Legislatur ... More >>

San Francisco Police Kill Suspected 'Gen X Bandit' Bank Robber

Gen X bandit wears plaid shirts​San Francisco cops shot and killed a suspected bank robber last night after he allegedly tried to run them over with his car. Media outlets are reporting that the wanted criminal might have been the notorious 'Gen X' bandit, who is known to rob banks in his distinct ... More >>

Gov. Jerry Brown Ready to Send State Prisoners to County Jails

Gov. Brown is dumping prisoners in your hometown ​Last month, SF Weekly told readers about a Supreme Court decision to force California to cut its inmate population -- drastically. Today, Gov. Jerry Brown told the courts that he has the perfect plan in mind: Shift state prisoners to county jails.A ... More >>

Tyler Florence, Celebrity Chef, Sued for "Bailing" on Business Partners

An unsavory deal ​Here is something for celebrity Chef Tyler Florence to chew on. His ex-business partners filed a lawsuit yesterday, accusing Florence of pushing them out of a deal to open an upscale restaurant in downtown San Francisco. According to the lawsuit, Florence, who has appeared on The ... More >>

Ben and Jerry's 'Natural Ice Cream' Isn't So Natural After All, Consumers Say

Ben and Jerry vs. healthy people ​A group of health nuts can continue litigation against Ben and Jerry's as well as Breyers, claiming the ice cream makers falsely advertised the creamy deliciousness as "all natural" when it really isn't. Initially, Breyers and Ben and Jerry's assumed upset consum ... More >>

California to Reduce Prison Population by 46,000, Supreme Court Rules

Mass exodus in the making ​Supreme Court justice have backed an order to reduce California's prison population by 46,000, a move that some are calling a "judicial travesty."At the same time, the state's overcrowded prison population is creating "injury and harm" to the inmate population, which is ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

Mass exodus in the making ​Supreme Court justice have backed an order to reduce California's prison population by 46,000, a move that some are calling a "judicial travesty."At the same time, the state's overcrowded prison population is creating "injury and harm" to the inmate population, which is ... More >>

Eddy Zheng's Deportation Case Will Not Die

In the final battle. ​In 2005, the East Bay Express published a story called "The Last Stand of Eddy Zheng."  Well, it's been six years and Zheng is still standing -- in more or less the same spot. But now the man who was paroled only to face deportation is seeing his saga enter its final rou ... More >>

BP Accused of Manipulating Gas Prices and Fuel Supplies

Gasholes are everywhere!​Last week, we told SF Weekly readers about Safeway being accused of predatory pricing when selling fuel. Now gas stations are suing BP, accusing the oil giant of manipulating supplies for a bigger profit. In the class action lawsuit filed last week in San Francisco, the le ... More >>

What Taqueria Is Tasty Enough for an MS-13 Member to Risk Getting Shot?

View Tacos on 24th Street in Norteño Territory in a larger mapSF Weekly reporter Lauren Smiley followed up on her (stunning) cover story, "A Rat's Life," with a blog post yesterday, "The Insider's Guide to the MS-13 Gang." In between tidbits like not using gang funds to buy broken-down Impalas and ... More >>

The Making of a MS-13 Gangster

How does this happen?​The youngest of the 24 accused Mara Salvatrucha gangsters operating in the Bay Area are barely 20 years old. They were still minors -- or had just turned 18 -- when they were arrested in 2008 during the Opeation Devil Horns gang take down. Since then, they have been indicted ... More >>

A Rat's Life: MS-13 Snitches Run Wild While Turning State's Evidence

How does this happen?​The youngest of the 24 accused Mara Salvatrucha gangsters operating in the Bay Area are barely 20 years old. They were still minors -- or had just turned 18 -- when they were arrested in 2008 during the Opeation Devil Horns gang take down. Since then, they have been indicted ... More >>

The Insider's Guide to the MS-13 Gang

A look inside ​You may have thought you knew the basics about the Mara Salvatrucha, the lethal street gang of mostly Central American immigrants highlighted in this week's cover story. You jump in, kill rivals, sordid things like that. But during the first week of the trial of seven members of the ... More >>

San Francisco MS-13 Gang Wasn't Violent Enough for Edwin Ramos, Witness Says

Accused murderer of the Bologna family jumped into a more violent clique in Richmond, witness testifies. One attorney alleges Bologna murders could have been prevented had federal agents deported Ramos when they first knew about his crimes.Edwin Ramos wasn't indicted with the 24 alleged MS-13 gangst ... More >>

California Leads The Nation in Imprisoning Criminal Immigrants

10 percent of California's inmates are non-citizens.​It's not a winning spot to brag about, but the Golden State is No.1 when it comes to incarcerating criminal immigrants. In fact, California is the only state to break the 100,000 mark. What's worse -- the state is shouldering the majority of the ... More >>

Hells Angels: Are They Lauryn Hill Fans?

Fans of Harleys...and Lauryn Hill?​The police told us a strange new twist in the caper of the Hells Angels attack on Market Street last night. The Angels and their soon-to-be victims had been at a show at the Warfield, says Sergeant Michael Andraychak. Well, Tuesday night's show was none other tha ... More >>