Sentencing ahead for man with gun linked to Potrero Hill mass shootout that left gang member dead
A suspected Zoo Block gang member found with a gun used in a notorious 12-handed 126-round shootout in San Francisco’s Potrero Hill projects in 2023 should serve 18 months in prison, federal prosecutors say.
Maurkece Johns, 32, was arrested by police investigators three months after the incident. During a foot pursuit he threw away a stolen pistol forensically linked to the gunfight and other crimes.
A search of his home turned up a loaded ghost gun and 256 rounds of ammunition.
Johns, who earlier pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, will appear for sentencing next week at San Francisco federal courthouse.
He is presently out of custody on bail.
Johns was caught by SFPD officers after a chase in the Bayview district on April 19 2023. As he fled he threw a firearm under a car in the parking lot of Malcolm X Academy school.
That gun – a loaded .40-caliber Smith & Wesson M&P Shield pistol – was linked to several crimes including an extraordinary gunfight in Potrero Hill projects on the evening of January 28 2023 which left one man dead.
12 guns were used in the incident and 126 casings were found at the scene.
A 44-year-old Zoo Block gang member was declared dead at a hospital.
Johns previous convictions include firearms possession in 2013, and burglary in 2014, 2016 and 2020. He has also been arrested several times for theft and domestic violence including a 2023 incident in which, prosecutors say, he choked his pregnant ex-girlfriend.
“Mr Johns claims that he only had the gun for ‘safety’ reasons,” wrote assistant U.S. attorney Christine Chen in a memorandum filed ahead of Johns’ sentencing hearing.
“There are at least two reasons to doubt his claim. One, the SFPD traced both this particular gun and Mr Johns to the shootout, suggesting that he was a participant in gang-perpetrated gun violence. Second, law enforcement found another gun and more than 250 bullets at Mr Johns’ apartment. The sheer quantity of ammunition shows that his motivation for possessing firearms went beyond mere ‘safety’ reasons.”
Defense attorney Ned Smock, who says his client “has undergone a truly remarkable transformation” while out on bail, is asking the court to impose a non-custodial sentence.
“Mr Johns is now a skilled member of the Laborers’ Union and he has turned his back on property crime as a way to support himself,” Smock wrote in his memorandum.
“His sole focus is work and laying the groundwork for a new life.”
Johns will appear on June 22 for sentencing at San Francisco federal courthouse before Judge James Donato.
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