Suspect in Fatal Robbery of Asian Teen in SF Denies Allegations, Pleads Not Guilty

June 16, 2020

One of the suspects who allegedly shot and killed Kelvin Chew in May in a fatal robbery pleaded not guilty and has denied all allegations.

What happened: Chew was fatally shot near his home in Portola, San Francisco, when two men allegedly tried to rob him.

Chew took a walk after his Zoom class on May 7, Community Youth Center Executive Director Sarah Ching-Ting Wan said, according to SF News.
Officers found the teen at 8:02 p.m. near Felton and Colby Streets with gunshot wounds.
Police were able to track down the two suspects from evidence found at the crime scene.
Chew, a son of a working-class Chinese immigrant family, studied at City College of San Francisco. He planned to go to UC Santa Cruz this fall to take up computer science and engineering.
A GoFundMe campaign was set up by the Community Youth Center of San Francisco (CYCSF) to help Chew’s family.

The aftermath: Fagamalama Pasene, 26, is facing first degree attempted robbery, conspiracy, murder, and being an accessory after the fact in addition to a misdemeanor warrant charges. Zion Young, 19, is facing suspicion of murder, attempted first degree robbery, possession of a firearm by a felon and conspiracy charges.

Young’s attorney, public defender Sylvia Cediel, said her client pleaded not guilty and denied all the allegations against him on Thursday, according to SF Examiner.
“This is a truly tragic situation for the families and communities of these young men, one of whom lost his life and two of whom now stand accused of taking it,” Cediel said.
Both Pasene and Young are still in custody with no bail.

Feature Image via GoFundMe

Share this Article