No Murder Charges For 2 Suspects In Mass Fillmore Shooting
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Two men initially arrested on suspicion of murder for a Saturday night shootout in San Francisco's Fillmore District that killed one man and injured five others, including one of the suspects, will not face murder charges at this time, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Both Sean Harrison, 25, and Jamare Coats, 26, have been charged with various gun offenses for allegedly engaging in a gun battle outside a memorial service being held at the Fillmore Heritage Center, located at 1330 Fillmore St., around 8:30 p.m. Saturday.
The shooting killed Misterdee Simons III, 25, and left a 27-year-old man paralyzed from the waist down, court documents revealed. Also injured as a result of the shooting: a 19-year-old man, a 51-year-old man and a 51-year-old woman, police said. Harrison also suffered injuries not considered life-threatening in the shooting.
During his arraignment Wednesday afternoon, Harrison appeared in court using a crutch. Both Harrison and Coats did not enter pleas and their arraignment was put over for Thursday.
According to court documents, prior to the shooting, Simmons, Harrison and Coats were among several attendees at a memorial service for Ron Newt, a well-known San Francisco businessman. Inside the memorial, Simmons allegedly got into a confrontation with Harrison and Coats.
When Simmons revealed he had a gun, prosecutors said Harrison, Coats and unidentified friends then went to their cars to get guns. Although security guards at the service tried to stop the group of armed men, Harrison, Coats and an unidentified man allegedly pushed past the guards and confronted Simmons as he sat on the sidewalk outside of the center.
According to a witness, Simmons then brandished his gun and gunfire erupted immediately, court documents said. Simmons shot at Harrison and Harrison allegedly returned fire before trying to run. Simmons, although injured, continued to fire, according to court documents.
At that point, Coats also allegedly began firing his gun at Simmons. At the same time, a 27-year-old innocent bystander was walking on Fillmore Street and began to run when he heard the gunshots. As the man was running, he was shot in the spine, paralyzing him from the waist down, court documents said.
"There were numerous people that were walking up and down the street and all these individuals had guns. They had absolutely no concern for the safety or public welfare of bystanders or citizens or children who were walking up and down the street," Assistant District Attorney Michael Swart said outside of court.
"While at this point and time we have not charged these individuals with murder or attempted murder, from a moral standpoint, these two individuals are responsible for paralyzing the 27-year-old," he said.
Following the shooting, the Fillmore Heritage Center had canceled all events for the rest of the month. However, Wednesday afternoon, the center announced the events were back on "in light of the outpouring of support from the community."
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