More details in bound-gagged slaying

Judge Samuel K. Feng( R) listens to a statement from lawyer Harry Dorfman representing the prosecution. An arraignment of five suspects held in connection with the slaying of a man found gagged and bound in Visitation Valley was held at the was held at the Hall of Justice at 850 Bryant St. in San Francisco, Ca Wednesday December 12th, 2012. less Judge Samuel K. Feng( R) listens to a statement from lawyer Harry Dorfman representing the prosecution. An arraignment of five suspects held in connection with the slaying of a man found gagged and bound in ... more Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle Photo: Michael Short, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close More details in bound-gagged slaying 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

The man who died after he was found on a San Francisco street bound, beaten and shot was visiting California from Georgia and had plans to relocate to the Golden State.

Stephen Reid, 26, planned to move to the Bay Area, where he had met and had been dating an 18-year-old woman who was found alongside him on a Visitacion Valley street Sunday, also bound, beaten and gagged. She is expected to survive.

Reid's family said they have no idea why anyone would leave him bleeding in the street alongside his girlfriend.

"I talked to him Sunday afternoon," his sister, Nicole Reid, said in a phone interview from Georgia. "He had plans to come home (the next day). He had a plane ticket. I guess that night, he had gone out with the girl one last time."

Died in hospital

Stephen Reid arrived in the Bay Area in October and stayed with a cousin in Fremont, where he soon met the young woman. He was the father of two young daughters and planned to arrange for the girls, ages 4 and 7, to visit from Georgia, Nicole Reid said.

"He was an old soul - real jovial, got along with everybody," Nicole Reid said. "It makes no sense to me."

A passing motorist discovered Reid and the woman on the 900 block of Brussels Street at about 8 p.m. Sunday. They were taken to San Francisco General Hospital, where Reid died. Investigators have not divulged a motive for the slaying and remain tightlipped, saying only that the victims and suspects knew one another and that the investigation could result in more arrests and charges.

"The story here is very complicated - there are a lot of moving parts," District Attorney George Gascón said. "I believe there will be additional charges as we move along, and as well there will probably be additional defendants."

Investigators said Reid and the woman were targeted and attacked by a group of acquaintances in a San Francisco home on the 3700 block of San Bruno Avenue.

Four women and one man were arrested Tuesday for the crime, but one of the women was released from jail with no charges filed. At the same time, another man, Vincent Bell, 31, was arrested in connection with the crime.

Bell was in court Wednesday afternoon alongside Montrail Brackens, 21, of Oakland; Heather Leach, 24, of Hercules and Maryann Manalastas, 22, of Oakland. They pleaded not guilty to murder, accessory to murder, assault and conspiracy charges.

Investigators believe suspects Brackens, Leach, Bell and two others who have not been identified stormed the home on San Bruno Avenue on Sunday, according to court filings.

Gagged and hog-tied

Brackens and Bell, armed with handguns, assaulted Reid and bound his hands behind his back, while Leach and Manalastas assaulted his girlfriend in a bedroom, where she was gagged and hog-tied, according to the court filings.

The victims were then put in a GMC Yukon, where Reid was shot in the neck. They were driven half a mile away and dumped in an unlit area of the street, the complaint said.

According to the complaint, Bell, Leach, Manalastas and Tyler Miller, 19, of Hercules, also conspired the next day to destroy evidence. Miller, who was released on $15,000 bail, is scheduled to be arraigned Friday morning.

In court, the co-defendants smiled and greeted each other quietly. Manalastas, her face bruised, grinned through most of the proceedings. Maelene Lintz, 32, of San Francisco was arrested with Brackens, Leach, Miller and Manalastas at a Hercules home early Tuesday. She was booked into jail on suspicion of murder, but was released later.