A San Francisco resident has been slapped with murder charges following the discovery of a body in the Presidio. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced a federal complaint against 20-year-old Leion Butler, accusing him of playing a role in the death of an individual found slain at the Crissy Field East Beach parking lot.
Authorities pieced together the tragic events last Sunday, when a body sporting a fatal gunshot wound to the head was discovered. According to the complaint, surveillance footage near the scene showed vehicles departing the area around the time of the death, including one belonging to the victim. Days later, that vehicle appeared abandoned in Hunters Point, a region worlds apart from the serene landscapes of the Presidio. The car, replete with its license plates, had been left double-parked for a curious length of time.
Investigators turned to additional footage harvested from cameras near the vehicle's final location, which captured someone—later identified as Butler—engaged in what could only be described as suspect behavior. In the intricate ballet of surveillance imagery, Butler is seen arriving in the victim's car, making phone calls, and discussing with a second car driver. "The surveillance camera captured images of the defendant speaking with the driver of the second car, the defendant making several trips between the victim’s car and the second car, and the defendant wiping down the driver’s side door and interior of the victim's car with 'a clothing item or towel'," states the complaint via the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of California as the presumed culprit attempted to conceal his presence. Moreover, Butler was documented shifting items from the victim's car to the second vehicle before they both vanished into the city's mesh.
The trail of digital breadcrumbs didn't end there. Through painstaking investigative work, law enforcement linked the second vehicle to a relative of Butler's and pinpointed the suspect's cell phone signal to the area during the crucial hours of the murder and when the search of the victim's car took place. Charged with aiding and abetting murder, Butler is looking at the gravest of penalties. The abyss of death or life in prison stares back at Butler, should a conviction be reached.
Butler, who pleaded not guilty, remains in the unwavering grip of federal custody. He faced the initial weight of justice before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim and is set for a subsequent appearance today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelsey Davidson is frontlining the prosecution, borne out of the extensive legwork of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
