A 25-year-old Oakland resident who police identified as the suspect in a brutal fight caught on video in downtown San Francisco has been arrested, according to police.
Melton Earl Kelly was arrested in the Tenderloin on Sunday morning in connection with the vicious beating and stomping of a man at Cyril Magnin and Eddy streets on Friday evening, according to the San Francisco Police Department.
A witness posted video of the fight on social media that showed two men tumbling around the corner near the Carl’s Jr fast-food restaurant until one man got the better of the other man.
That man, who police have identified as Kelly, then repeatedly punched the other man in the face and stomped his head as a crowd of onlookers watched.
“Oh my god,” a bystander can be heard shouting. “You about to kill him.”
The suspect then rifled through the man’s pockets as the victim lay unconscious and stole a wad of cash before fleeing the scene.
“Leave him there,” the suspect said as a bystander stepped in to turn the bleeding man on his side.
The victim was taken to the hospital with injuries considered life-threatening. He is still recovering at the hospital.
At around 7:19 a.m. on Sunday, police arrested Kelly blocks away from the scene of the fight on Ellis Street between Taylor and Jones streets.
He was booked at County Jail on suspicion of various felony charges including attempted murder, robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and resisting arrest. He was also suspected of narcotics-related charges.
SFPD Investigators are seeking the public’s help to identify the man shown in these photographs. He is wanted in a robbery & attempted murder which occurred at Cyril Magnin/Ellis today. Please call our anonymous tip line at(415)575-4444 if you can ID him. SFPD Case 180977559. pic.twitter.com/t0Y6Hilij0
— SFPD Tenderloin (@SFPDTenderloin) December 29, 2018
— SFPD Tenderloin (@SFPDTenderloin) December 30, 2018
mbarba@sfexaminer.com
