SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — A beloved San Francisco store clerk was murdered in the Richmond District this summer by a man who stole two cans of beer, prosecutors said.
A Hollister man, 21-year-old Santos De La Rosa, is accused of beating the clerk to death with a baseball bat inside the convenience store on Balboa Street the night of August 24.
Yohannes “John” Tewolde, 60, confronted De La Rosa with the bat in an attempt to stop him from shoplifting, but the beer thief gained control of the weapon, police said.
After the beating, De La Rosa retrieved one of the beers he had tried to steal previously and threw the bat at a second victim in the store, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
He evaded arrest by fleeing in a getaway car driven by accomplice, prosecutors said. Tewolde died in a hospital five days later.
De La Rosa was arrested on September 12. This week, prosecutors charged De La Rosa with murder, second-degree robbery, and assault with a deadly weapon.
“I would like to thank the San Francisco Police Department’s Homicide division for their
outstanding work to identify and apprehend Mr. De La Rosa,” said District Attorney Brooke
Jenkins. “I offer my office’s unwavering commitment to fighting for justice in the courtroom.”
According to a GoFundMe page, Tewolde was a hardworking and loving husband. “He worked 7 days a week and always shared his warm smile with customers,” the page states. He greeted customers alongside his store cat, named Nancy.
De La Rosa is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Department 10 of the Hall of Justice. The District Attorney’s Office will file a motion to keep De La Rosa in jail without bail as he awaits trial. If convicted of all charges, he will face up to life in state prison.
