Mayor Ed Lee has authorized a reward of $250,000 for information that leads to the arrest and prosecution of suspects wanted in the murder of Alberto Casillas on January 7th, 2007.
Casillas was killed after an altercation with two men at Club Caliente, a now-shuttered bar at 298 11th St. in SoMa. According to SFPD, two suspects brandished a firearm during a confrontation inside the club. When Casillas and a friend drove away a short while later, the perpetrators fired a gun into the driver’s side of the victim’s silver GMC Yukon near 13th and Folsom.
Casillas was transported to SF General where he later succumbed to his injuries.
According to the SFPD's reward flyer, police are seeking two individuals, both African-American males between the ages of 18 and 25. One suspect was described in 2007 as approximately 6'4" and more than 200 pounds, seen wearing a long black jacket and black T-shirt. The other individual is described as approximately 5'8", 160 pounds and clean-shaven, seen wearing a dark T-shirt.
SFPD
In 2008, then-mayor Gavin Newsom announced that he would increase reward money to $250,000 in 16 unsolved homicides. According to the SF Examiner, these were “cases on the verge of being solved but lacking a key piece of evidence or witness that could secure a conviction.” The $250,000 rewards are more than double the previous $100,000 rate, which the Examiner described as "already some of the highest municipal rewards in the nation."
Hoodline contacted Paul Henderson, the Mayor’s Deputy Chief of Staff and Director of Public Safety, to learn about Mayor Lee's involvement in this program, but that information was not available at this time.
If you have any information in this case, you can contact SFPD Inspector Gianrico Pierucci at (415) 553-1145 or text the city’s anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444. You can also send a text to TIP411, but add “SFPD” to the subject line.
