San Francisco federal prosecutors charged the suspect of an unprovoked attack and shooting downtown, which occurred last October with felony gun possession.
On February 11, the criminal complaint said 47-year-old Alvin Merrite was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Authorities have not yet booked the suspect for a schedule in court. Public records revealed Merrite is currently being housed in the San Francisco jail.
Unprovoked Attack and Shooting
According to the allegations, on the night of October 2, Merrite was identified by surveillance video to be the man who shot three people in under 10 minutes. Fortunately, none of the civilians were injured by the gunshots.
“Merrite approached two males (Victims #1 and #2) who were walking westbound on Market Street from Montgomery Street. Merrite grabbed Victim #2 without provocation while waving and firing a black pistol in the air,” the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Special Agent Joseph DeMartini said in the complaint.
DeMartini said Victim #2 immediately raised his hands up in the air in submission after hearing the gunshots. On the other hand, Victim #1 held his arms to his side, begging Merrite for his life. The footage revealed the suspect pointing his firearm at Victim #1 and shooting. Fortunately, the individual was able to dodge the bullet and flee from Merrite.
Afterward, Merrite allegedly punched Victim #2 before firing his gun into the air while holding it near his head. Authorities later discovered that the two victims had no connection to Merrite whatsoever, Mercury News reported.
Merrite reportedly confronted and shot at a third man in the same location a couple of minutes after the first incident. The suspect admitted to shooting his pistol four to five times that night after being arrested by a San Francisco police officer, the lawsuit said.
The two previous federal criminal arrests of Merrite did not allow him to have possession of guns. He was previously charged in 1994 for a drug possession conviction out of Alabama, and in 2013, a firearms conviction in Houston, according to the lawsuit. Court documents revealed that the first scheduled date of Merrite is not yet confirmed.
