On May 8, 2021, 25-year-old Robert Luis Mena Gallardo of San Francisco was found with gunshot wounds on the 100 block of Fern Street, between Van Ness Avenue and Polk Street. SFPD officers and paramedics responded around 1:40 a.m.; Mena Gallardo was pronounced dead at the scene. Family remembered him as bright and playful, and his death prompted a community response including a GoFundMe to help the family.

Investigators quickly identified a suspect. On May 18, 2021, SFPD arrested 25-year-old Ulysses Gutierrez near 46th Avenue and Judah Street on charges of murder, carrying a loaded firearm in public, being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, and violating probation. Officers executed a search warrant at Gutierrez’s residence and seized additional evidence described as linking him to the crime. Gutierrez was already on probation for a prior firearm possession conviction.

The SFPD continued to investigate and asked anyone with information to come forward. Does anyone have details about that night on Fern Street or saw activity in the area around 1:40 a.m.?