Man faces robbery and gun charges in aftermath of SoMa shooting
A 20-year-old accused of shooting a man in the back outside a SoMa nightclub, leaving him paralyzed, will appear in a city courtroom today for arraignment on robbery and gun charges.
Prosecutors say Rufino Jesus Gutierrez Jr. opened fire during a robbery on 5th Street in the early hours of February 15. An arrest warrant was authorized in July and he was detained September 24.
Investigators describe surveillance footage of Gutierrez leaping from a red Honda coupe and pointing a pistol at the victim’s head, while the driver of a black Honda sedan grabbed him by the neck.
Moments earlier the victim had been walking along an alley behind Bryant Street when the sedan pulled up. He shook the driver’s hand and leaned in to talk. He had met Gutierrez and the sedan’s driver inside the club earlier that night.
A third man pulled up in a white BMW and joined in, punching the victim repeatedly. Prosecutors say the robbers took a $5,000 set of gold ‘grillz’ worn over his teeth, and his ID card.
When the victim broke free and ran Gutierrez chased him and fired a single shot. The three men crowded around him where he fell, then fled.
The victim was hit in the abdomen and back and had surgery at San Francisco General. Two days later he told investigators he could not feel his legs.
Before driving off, Gutierrez is said to have tried and failed to pull the rear license plate off his coupe. License plate readers recorded the three cars driving west in convoy on Brannan Street minutes later.
The victim at first told police he would not recognize the gunman, but later picked Gutierrez out of a photo lineup as having been at the club that night.
Gutierrez is charged with second-degree robbery and with possessing a machine gun: a 10mm Glock pistol fitted with an automatic fire switch. He also faces other gun charges.
Lorenzo Jesus Delgado, 26, who prosecutors say was also armed, faces the same robbery charge.
Gutierrez, who has not yet entered a plea, will appear today in department 20 of the Hall of Justice for arraignment.
The case continues.
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