A gang member found with an arsenal of guns and ammunition during a police probe into his role in a violent assault on a Fillmore district street, was sentenced to 57 months’ imprisonment this afternoon at San Francisco federal courthouse.
Shadon Mitchell was said by his ex-girlfriend to have pistol-whipped her after the pair became embroiled in a dispute outside the McDonald’s restaurant on Fillmore Street in October 2022.
The victim reported that her sister’s baby had been hit by a round from a water pellet gun fired by Mitchell. She remonstrated with him and he, in response, retrieved a real handgun and launched the attack before fleeing in a grey Dodge Charger.
SFPD officers arrested the defendant two weeks later. A search of his home turned up an .223 caliber AR-style ‘ghost gun’, a .45 caliber Glock 21 pistol, a .22 caliber Phoenix Arms pistol and a 38 special Ruger LCR revolver.
132 rounds of ammunition were also found.
U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria told Mitchell today that the 57 month sentence was “to underscore the seriousness of this conduct and the importance of the need to dramatically turn things around and to just stop doing things like this – it’s a danger to the community.”
Mitchell earlier pleaded guilty to one count of ‘being a felon in possession of a firearm’ and probation violations.
“Community violence is driven by the possession of firearms by felons,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Buszin told the court, “particularly those like Mr Mitchell that have a demonstrated history of violence.”
He pressed for a 65 month sentence pointing to the defendant’s criminal history, his membership of the “Mac Block” gang, and lack of amenability to supervision by probation officials.
An attorney for Mitchell suggested that a 40 month sentence would be adequate.
Mitchell received a three year prison sentence in 2014 after committing an assault with a semi-automatic rifle. In that incident Mitchell and associates stopped their vehicle in the road, approached a car and exchanged words with an occupant, before Mitchell opened fire on the victim who was miraculously unharmed. Within a year of being released from custody after that episode, prosecutors say, he was involved a domestic violence incident and then failed to complete an anger management class he was ordered to take by a court.
At this afternoon’s hearing Judge Chhabria sentenced Mitchell to 57 months’ imprisonment.
With respect to the pistol-whipping allegations that began the affair, and which set in train the events that led to Mitchell’s firearms haul being discovered, the judge said that he could not find, by a preponderance of the evidence, that it happened.
“If you forced me to guess,” conceded the judge, “I think you’re probably right it happened but…I’m not there in terms of the evidence.”
“But I nonetheless think that the conduct is serious enough, and the defendant’s history is serious enough, that a ‘guidelines’ sentence is appropriate here. I understand that the deck has been stacked against Mr Mitchell – he has a very difficult history – but the conduct is very serious, the string of criminal acts is very long and it’s time to turn things around.”
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