Vincent Jacobo, 56, made his initial court appearance Thursday afternoon after being charged with murder and possession of a firearm by a felon for the killing of 28-year-old Maurice White at about 4:30 a.m. Monday on Bartlett Street between 21st and 22nd streets.
Assistant District Attorney Scot Clark said Jacobo has a prior conviction in 1976 for another murder in San Francisco and told Judge Monica Wiley that it was "unique in my career" that someone convicted and sentenced for murder was arrested again for another killing.
"A leopard can't change his spots," Clark told reporters outside of court.
The prosecutor said surveillance footage in the area shows a man shooting White several times in the back as the victim ran away. After White fell to the ground, the suspect "administers the coup de grace" and shot him one final time in the neck, Clark told the judge.
He said still photos taken from the video show that Jacobo was the shooter.
Deputy Public Defender Kwixuan Maloof said the footage, which was shown in the judge's chambers, was "very grainy" and depicts an older man as the shooter.
Maloof said the video wasn't "clear and convincing evidence" that Jacobo was the shooter since "there are countless older gentlemen in San Francisco."
Jacobo was arrested later Monday in the 1100 block of Valencia Street, police said.
He did not enter a plea Thursday to the murder charge and was ordered by Wiley to be held with no opportunity for bail. He will return to court on Monday morning.
Prosecutors and police have not released a possible motive for the shooting, which prompted the shutdown of a portion of Bartlett Street for much of Monday morning.
More details about the prior 1976 murder conviction were also not immediately released by the district attorney's office.