Men indicted in German tourist's death plead to lesser charges

Mechthild Schröer was caught in a gunbattle's cross fire. Mechthild Schröer was caught in a gunbattle's cross fire. Photo: Courtesy ABC7 News Photo: Courtesy ABC7 News Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Men indicted in German tourist's death plead to lesser charges 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Four men who were indicted in 2011 in the killing of a German tourist who was visiting San Francisco when she was caught in gunfire pleaded guilty to lesser charges and will each serve between five and nine years in state prison, authorities said Friday.

The men reached plea agreements with the San Francisco district attorney's office, which dropped the murder charges in exchange for guilty pleas on gun and assault charges in connection to the 2010 death of Mechthild Schröer, 50, an elementary school rector from Hanover, Germany.

Prosecutors said the case was a complicated one with unreliable witnesses.

Schröer was in town with her husband to celebrate her birthday and wedding anniversary when they were caught in gunfire, believed to have been exchanged between two rival gangs, at Mason and Geary streets on Aug. 8, 2010.

Schröer was killed and two others injured.

On Friday, Phillip Stewart, 22, pleaded guilty to assault with a semiautomatic firearm in connection with the shooting. As part of a plea agreement, he will be sentenced to nine years in state prison at a later sentencing date.

Delvon Scott, 22, pleaded guilty to assault with a firearm in exchange for six years and eight months in state prison.

Raheem Jackson, 20, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm for five years of incarceration; and Willie Eason, 22, pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm into an inhabited dwelling in exchange for five years in state prison.

Originally, seven people had been accused of taking part in the gunbattle that killed Schröer. Though a grand jury indicted Marcos Blueford, 22, a judge dismissed the case against him, citing insufficient evidence.

Gethsemane Pita, 22, is currently facing federal prosecution. The city's case against Devante Laws, 22, who was at large for most of the proceedings and was only taken into custody in February, is ongoing.

Assistant District Attorney Eric Fleming said his office spoke with Schröer's family before entering into plea agreements with the four defendants.

While the case was already complicated with multiple defendants, Fleming said "the chaotic scene" made it even worse.

"There were 70 people out in the street," he said. "Trying to get concrete eyewitness testimonies when there were people shooting was very, very difficult."

From unreliable eyewitnesses, investigators had difficulty establishing who began shooting at whom, and which group could claim self-defense and which couldn't, Fleming said. The weapon was never recovered, but Fleming said investigators do not believe any of the four who pleaded guilty Friday had fired the gun that killed Schröer.

"We've learned that in order for us to have aggressive prosecution, it starts with witnesses cooperating with us," Fleming said. "This case was only solved because of a witness that came forward two days later, and then we had more witnesses that would not cooperate. Unless citizens who see things cooperate with us, we are going to have a hard time prosecuting cases."

Attorneys for Stewart, Scott and Jackson did not immediately return calls for comment. Eason's attorney, V. Roy Lefcourt, said he believed the plea agreement was fair, especially as his client had been acting in self-defense.

"It was established that he never shot at any of the alleged victims," he said. "We feel sorry for the victim and the victim's family, but my client had nothing to do with it."

As part of the plea agreements, Stewart's, Scott's and Eason's guilty pleas each count as one strike under the state's "three strikes" law. Jackson's pleas to two charges will count as two strikes.