A San Francisco jury has convicted a man of attacking and stabbing a homeless man in a park in the city’s North Beach neighborhood, authorities said Thursday.
The attack took place on April 1 in Washington Square Park. The District Attorney’s Office said in a news release that an unhoused person was lying on a park bench when 35-year-old Mario Hills confronted him. Without any provocation, Hills pepper-sprayed the victim and chased him outside the park, eventually stabbing him twice in the torso, prosecutors said.
Hills was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon and causing great bodily harm.
“The jury’s verdict holds Mr. Hills accountable and ensures that he will face the consequences of his crimes,” District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in a prepared statement. “My office will continue to do everything we can to make our city, including our parks, safer. for all residents.”
San Francisco, CA – San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced today that her office has secured a conviction for Mario Hills, 35, following a jury trial in the stabbing death of a man in a North Beach park. Mr. Hills was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon (PC 245(a)(1)). The jury also found the allegation that Mr. Hills personally caused great bodily harm to the victim to be true (PC 12022.7(a)).
“Every member of our San Francisco community deserves to be safe on our streets,” Assistant District Attorney Negad Zaky said in a statement. “This is especially true for our unhoused neighbors, who are often victims of violent crime.”
Hills is currently in custody. His sentencing will be scheduled at a future hearing, the prosecutor’s office said.
