Richmond Man Convicted Of Execution-Style Slaying In San Francisco's Sunnydale District
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A 42-year-old Richmond man has been found guilty of an August 2013 execution-style slaying in San Francisco's Sunnydale District and is being investigated in other Bay Area homicides, prosecutors announced Wednesday.
San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón said a Superior Court jury found Zuri Wilson guilty of 1st degree murder with special circumstance allegations for lying in wait. He also was found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He now faces life without the possibility of parole at the time of his sentencing.
"A dangerous man has been taken off the streets, and we're all safer for it," Gascón said. "Violence simply has no place in our community."
According to court records, Wilson is also a person of interest in several Bay Area homicides and has prior convictions for being a felon in possession of a firearm, as well as being a felon in possession of a silencer and ammunition.
On Friday night August 23, 2013, Wilson executed the victim, Shawnte Otis, in cold blood by shooting him several times as he unsuspectingly knelt near the passenger's side of his car.
Prosecutors claimed that the murder was committed after Wilson had been lying in wait for over an hour in a vacant housing unit across from where Otis often stayed.
At the time of the shooting, investigators said, Otis was unloading items from his rental car when two masked men rushed out of a housing unit located at 129 Blythdale Avenue, ran up and shot him several times in the head and back. The shooters immediately fled south through a courtyard and a large hole in a fence that led out to Carrizal Avenue.
A witness testified that she saw the two men enter and flee in a Nissan Altima.
Video surveillance also played during trial, capturing a Nissan Altima two hours prior to the homicide in the area around where Otis was ultimately executed.
The surveillance video further showed a window shade on the second floor periodically moving as the shooter conducted surveillance. A review of defendant's cellular phone indicated that the phone was in the area of the Sunnydale Projects, consistent with the location of the homicide.
Surveillance footage captured Otis walking from 151 Blythdale towards his car, at which point the second floor window shade inside of the location where Wilson was lying in wait moves. At 7:01:17 pm, less than thirty seconds after Otis is seen on the video, the shooters ran out of 129 Blythdale, murdered Otis and fled towards Carrizal Ave.
After a 6-week investigation, an arrest warrant naming Wilson was obtained for the murder. On the evening of October 3, 2013, SFPD was conducting surveillance in the area of 5011 Montoya Ave. in San Pablo. They saw the defendant exit an apartment building on the bottom floor. The next day, an SFPD SWAT team served a search warrant at the same location.
During the search, Wilson was briefly able to avoid arrest and escaped out the rear of the apartment. He avoided arrest for approximately an hour and was later arrested at San Pablo BART Station with approximately $14,000 in cash.
"While I'm pleased with the verdict and the fact our community is now safer, we must remember that a family lost a son and will never be whole again," said Assistant DA Omid Talai. "Their painful and vigilant presence in the courtroom served as a constant reminder of how important it was to put Shante's murderer behind bars."
Defendant Wilson faces life without the possibility of parole. The Honorable Bruce Chan presided. This successful prosecution is due to an excellent investigation by SFPD Lt. John Burke. Special thanks go to Paralegals Jessica Diamond and Tony Yu, Victim Advocate Jovan Thomas, IT Support Specialist Morris Moore and D'Andre Lewis. Assistant District Attorney Omid Talai prosecuted the case.
