Alleged Gang Member Charged With 2019 Murder of San Francisco Teen

(CN) — Federal prosecutors unsealed a criminal complaint Friday charging an alleged member of the San Francisco Norteños gang with the murder of 15-year-old Day’von Hann last year in the city’s Mission District. 

Fernando Madrigal, 22, fatally shot Hann in the early hours of July 8, a block away from the 24th and Mission BART Station, according to the criminal complaint.

Hann’s murder sparked citywide mourning and an uproar from community residents who called on city leaders to invest in programs and jobs for youth of color and to clamp down on gang violence. Before his death, Hann was active with United Playaz, a San Francisco-based violence prevention and youth development organization.

Madrigal — also called “Nando” — was arrested Friday by local and federal law enforcement.

The complaint, filed in the Northern District of California, alleges Madrigal and other Norteños gang members shot Hann, believing he was a member of rival gang Army Street.

The Norteños had claimed control of the area around 24th Street and Mission Street in San Francisco where Hann resided, though officials said Friday the teen had no connection to the gang.

Police responded to the scene of the shooting and found Hann was not breathing. He was pronounced dead just 10 minutes after he was shot in the back, FBI Deputy Special Agent Craig Fair said in a press conference Friday. 

“This murder was senseless and horrific,” he said.

Hann, who was not named in the complaint but identified in local media reports, was identified at the scene from the school ID he was carrying when he was killed.

After the shooting, Madrigal allegedly drove with the gang to the nearby Bernal Dwellings apartments, a complex claimed as territory of their rival gang, and fired a shot at the building.

San Francisco Police responded to the second shooting and pursued the alleged gang members in a high-speed chase through San Mateo County, though they eventually evaded authorities.

Fair said in a statement gang violence disproportionately affects people of color and working class communities in San Francisco.

“No one should be afraid to walk in their own neighborhood, and no one deserves to lose their son or daughter to gang violence,” Fair said.

U.S. Attorney David Anderson said in a statement Friday that Hann’s murder was a “senseless” tragedy.

“The Mission District deserves to be just as free from gang warfare as every other neighborhood in San Francisco,” Anderson said. “We will continue to work with our local law enforcement partners to eradicate gang violence.”

Days before the shooting, Madrigal posted videos of himself on Instagram holding an AR-15 rifle and wearing a glove as he loaded ammunition into a magazine, according to a 31-page affidavit of FBI Special Agent Keigan Park.

According to the affidavit, Park believes Madrigal loaded the magazine while wearing a glove in order to avoid having law enforcement detect his fingerprints.

“I know from my training and experience that at least one reason to load ammunition using a gloved hand is to avoid leaving evidence such as DNA or fingerprints on the ammunition,” the affidavit said.

In an Instagram story posted July 6 on Madrigal’s account “nando.needitall,” Madrigal is seen holding a black, short-barreled rifle, which according to Park is also called a “mini chop,” and speaking with three other individuals inside a room.

“Straight thugging,” Madrigal says in the video, which was obtained via search warrant. “Didn’t want to bring out the Glock, so I brought the mini chop.”

Madrigal is an admitted member of the Locos North Side clique, a faction of the Norteños gang, the affidavit said.

Madrigal will make an initial appearance in court before a U.S. Magistrate Judge but a hearing has yet to be scheduled, prosecutors said Friday.

Madrigal faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, and a fine of $250,000. Prosecutors said he’s also eligible for the death penalty, which was halted by California Governor Gavin Newsom last year.

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