Accused MS-13 gang members in court as new details emerge of horrifying 2024 slaying in San Francisco’s Mission district
Two accused MS-13 gang members, charged with murder after a callous slaying on a Mission district street, will appear in a San Francisco courtroom today – as prosecutors seek permission to combine their cases after one was picked up following a year and a half on the lam.
Prosecutors say Elmer Zelaya-Coreas, 26, Elvin Villalta, 25, and an unnamed juvenile attacked Joseph Zarate seconds after spotting him walk past a Mexican restaurant near 16th and Mission on September 4 2024.
According to court documents, the trio left the Aramex eatery and pursued their victim half a block south on Mission Street: Zelaya-Coreas punched him, the juvenile slashed him with a machete and Villalta shot him multiple times.
20-year-old Zarate died of the gunshot wounds.
SFPD found Villalta and the juvenile two hours later in Dolores Park – nearby was a bag containing a pistol on which, prosecutors say, Villalta’s DNA was present.
One month after the incident investigators obtained an arrest warrant for Zelaya-Coreas, who was picked up in May this year after an arrest for assault at San Gregorio State Beach.
The pair will appear at San Francisco’s Hall of Justice this morning for a hearing on prosecutors’ motion to consolidate both cases ahead of a scheduled preliminary hearing later this month.
That motion outlines their case that the defendants are gang members and they attacked their victim, whom they did not know, for no other reason than that he wore red shorts.
“Mr Zelaya-Coreas, Mr Villalta and the third individual are members of a street gang, in particular the 20th Street Clique of MS-13 in San Francisco,” wrote assistant district attorney Jonathan Schmidt.
“The gang is known as ‘Surenos’ and they have a rivalry with another gang known as ‘Nortenos’. Nortenos often wear red. While at the restaurant, Mr Zelaya-Coreas spotted a man walking by wearing red shorts. That man, Mr Zarate, was unknown to Zelaya-Coreas and his companions.”
“All three individuals left the restaurant and attacked Mr Zarate,” continued Schmidt. “Mr Zelaya-Coreas initiated the attack, giving the first punch. Within seconds, Mr Villalta took out a gun and shot and killed Mr Zarate.”
Both adult defendants have pleaded not guilty to murder, street gang participation and assault likely to cause great bodily injury.
MS-13, a designated foreign terrorist group, has been responsible for horrifying violence in San Francisco for decades. That violence continues despite occasional law enforcement crackdowns: just eight months before this killing the leader of the 20th Street Clique, Elmer Rodriguez, received a life sentence in federal prison.
The case continues.
Main picture: footage of the attack (l) and Zelaya-Coreas (r)
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