SAN FRANCISCO – A complaint was unsealed today charging Fernando Madrigal with the murder of a 15 year-old, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson, FBI Deputy Special Agent in Charge Craig D. Fair, and San Francisco Police Chief William Scott.  Additional facts regarding the investigation and charges can be found here: https://youtu.be/TJtN7F0vs6o

According to the complaint, Madrigal, 22, of San Francisco, is alleged to have been a member of a street gang known as the San Francisco Mission District Norteños, which claimed to control the area around 24th Street and Mission in San Francisco.  The complaint alleges that in the early hours of July 8, 2019, Madrigal and his fellow gang members shot and killed an individual on the sidewalk of 24th Street in San Francisco, about a block away from the 24th and Mission BART Station.  The victim was a 15-year old who was identified from his school ID card.  According to the complaint, the victim had been erroneously identified as a rival gang member.  Shortly after the murder, Madrigal and his fellow gang members drove to a housing complex a few blocks away in an area claimed by their rival gang, and fired a gunshot.  There, they encountered SFPD officers, whom they then led on a high-speed car chase through the Mission District and onto Highways 101 and 280, before escaping.  

“This killing was senseless,” said U.S. Attorney David L. Anderson.  “The Mission District is a wonderful neighborhood, a diverse neighborhood, a neighborhood of children and young families and the elderly. The Mission District deserves to be just as free from gang warfare as every other neighborhood in San Francisco.  We will continue to work with our local law enforcement partners to eradicate gang violence.  We are all safer when we work together.”   

“This murder was senseless and horrific,” said FBI Deputy Special Agent in Charge Craig Fair.  “The FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force will continue to investigate street violence that’s targeting the children of our city, and, disproportionally, communities of color and people who are struggling to get by. No one should be afraid to walk in their own neighborhood, and no one deserves to lose their son or daughter to gang violence.”

Madrigal was arrested in San Francisco earlier today.  His initial appearance in court before a U.S. Magistrate Judge has yet to be scheduled.  

A complaint merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The crime charged against Madrigal in the complaint is eligible for the death penalty.  Otherwise, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, and a fine of $250,000.  However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.  

The case is being prosecuted by the Organized Crime Strike Force of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  The prosecution is the result of a yearlong investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, together with SFPD Gang Task Force and SFPD Homicide.