SFPD has reported that the gun used in the shooting death of a San Francisco resident last month was stolen from an officer’s personal vehicle just three days prior.
Around 2:00am on August 15th, officers responded to a reported shooting in an apartment on the 3200 block of 26th Street (near Van Ness).
SFPD later determined that 23-year-old Abel Enrique Esquivel, Jr. was shot multiple times. The victim was transported to the hospital, but succumbed to his wounds the next day.
Three suspects were arrested this week and booked into county jail. During the investigation, SFPD determined the weapon used to shoot Esquivel was stolen out of an officer’s personal car on August 12th.
SFPD is conducting an internal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the theft of the gun. According to state law, it's legal to leave a gun in an unattended car, but only if it's unloaded and locked in the trunk or inside a locked container.
According to ABC7, the officer did not immediately realize that the weapon was missing:
The suspects charged in Esquivel’s death are two 18-year-olds, Erick Garcia Pineda and Daniel Cruz, and 24-year-old Jesus Perez-Araujo, all from San Francisco.
Police also identified the trio in connection with multiple robberies in the Mission between August 13th and August 15th. They were also allegedly involved in an aggravated assault that occurred around 2:17am on August 15th on the 2600 block of Mission Street (near 22nd Street).
While arrests have been made, the investigation into the homicide remains open. Anyone with information can anonymously call the SFPD Tip Line at (415) 575-4444 or Text a Tip to TIP411 and begin the message with SFPD.
