Woman allegedly pulled trigger in fatal shooting at San Francisco's Twin Peaks
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- We're learning more about the shooting death of a 71-year-old man on San Francisco's Twin Peaks. In court on Tuesday, it was revealed that a 20-year-old woman was the alleged shooter and not the young man she was with. Still, both will be charged with murder.
Police took a booking photo of 20-year-old San Francisco resident Fantasy Decuir from her hospital bed. She was meant to be in court Tuesday alongside Patterson resident Lamonte Mims. Both are accused of killing Edward French on Twin Peaks. French was a San Francisco-based photographer and worked as a location scout for films and other productions.
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"There are some physical limitations about her being here at this time," said Alex Bastian with the San Francisco District Attorney's Office. "She's in the hospital and should be back on Friday."
Friday is when both suspects will be arraigned. In court on Tuesday it was revealed that Decuir allegedly shot French in order to steal his camera. Mims, who is 19, will also be charged with murder for aiding and abetting.
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Family and friends of the former film location manager were in court on Tuesday. They told us French was up on Twin Peaks taking pictures of the sunrise.
"I'm here to hopefully find some closure for his death and I'm also here to see that justice is served," said French's great-nephew Joseph Cordero.
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In July 2016, Mims had been convicted of a burglary in San Mateo. While on felony probation, he was arrested on July 7 of this year for possessing a firearm. On July 11 he was arraigned in court, but released by a judge while waiting for his next hearing. Five days later, on July 16, police say both Mims and Decuir committed the crime.
"The final arbiter and decider of custodial status is the judge," said Bastian.
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The judge released Mims based on a recommendation from the San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project, which made a risk assessment of Mims and found him to be a mid-level risk. It's a way to avoid overcrowding our jails. The family says Mims should have never been allowed to go free.
"I'm sorry, you know, people need to be held responsible for that and the people that let him go need to be held responsible for that as well," said French's niece Regina Crowley.
Phone calls to that unit, which partners with the sheriff's department, were not returned.
