Suspect in Bayview killing faces weapons charges, not murder
A suspect arrested this week on suspicion of killing a 26-year-old father of three in San Francisco’s Bayview district faces gun charges but not homicide charges in the fatal shooting, officials said Thursday.
Cleavon Foster, 37, was arrested Monday and booked into San Francisco Jail in the killing of Jevon Cael on June 5, authorities said.
Cael was shot dead in the street near an elementary school playground on the 1500 block of Oakdale Avenue, one block east of Third Street, around 11 a.m. that day. He was pronounced dead at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds.
Cael, a San Francisco resident with a history of brushes with the law, was a father of three young children, 7-year-old twin boys and a 5-year-old boy.
Police have not released any circumstances or a motive for the shooting. They did not give details on the arrest.
On Wednesday, the district attorney’s office charged Foster with being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm with a prior conviction, having a concealed gun in a vehicle, and possession of a firearm near a school. He was on probation at the time of the shooting, court records show.
The district attorney’s office declined to say why it did not file homicide charges.
“Charging decisions are based on the facts and the law,” a spokesman said. “At this point, the appropriate charging decisions have been made.”
Foster’s attorney did not immediately respond to messages.
A source familiar with the investigation told The Chronicle that Cael was armed with a handgun found near his body.
Both the defendant and victim in the case have lengthy criminal records in San Francisco, according to court records. Cael was previously arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and other crimes. Foster has priors, including burglary and felony drug charges.
The killing devastated Cael’s family, who attended a prayer circle and peace walk at the scene where Cael died one week after the shooting.
Cael married Sarah Inez Thomas-Cael, on Valentine’s Day 2017. His parents, Lorenzo Cael and Wanda Fain, have struggled with the death, hoping police would find their son’s killer.