A Mercedes driver hit and ran over 74-year-old Dannielle Spillman after a brief clash near Mission Street, say prosecutors.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — A San Francisco man has been charged with murder after prosecutors said he drove a Mercedes-Benz into a 74-year-old pedestrian during a sidewalk dispute near Mission Street on April 13, then ran over her and left the scene.

The case has drawn attention because prosecutors describe a quick street encounter that turned deadly within seconds. Valantino Cash Amil, 30, is accused of killing Dannielle Spillman after she objected to his car blocking part of a sidewalk outside a gas station. Amil has pleaded not guilty, remains in custody without bond and is seeking new defense counsel as the case moves through San Francisco Superior Court.

Prosecutors said Amil had driven a black 2024 Mercedes-Benz E350 to the Chevron station at 1601 Mission St., near South Van Ness Avenue, to fill up with gas. After refueling, he moved toward the exit with his window down and began to merge into traffic on Mission Street. His car was stopped partly in the roadway and partly on the sidewalk when Spillman walked up. The district attorney’s office said Spillman appeared to object to the blocked path, moved alongside the driver’s side and then walked toward the front of the sedan. District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said the evidence showed an intentional act, not an accident. “We believe that this was an intentional act, an intentional killing,” Jenkins said after announcing the charges.

Court documents cited by prosecutors say Spillman spilled liquid from a water bottle onto the hood of the Mercedes while she was in front of the stopped car. Prosecutors have described the liquid as water. They said Amil then accelerated into Spillman, knocking her onto the hood and windshield. After driving several feet, the car slowed and Spillman slid off the hood, landing in front of the vehicle. Eyewitnesses told authorities that Amil drove away, ran over Spillman and did not stop. Medics pronounced Spillman dead at the scene less than 10 minutes later. Authorities have not said that Spillman had any weapon. The defense has disputed the state’s reading of the encounter and says Amil feared for his family’s safety.

Amil was not alone in the car. His wife and two children were passengers, including a baby and an older child. Defense attorney Seth Morris has said Amil believed the family was in danger and was trying to get them away from a threat. Morris has said Amil feared the liquid poured on the car could have been gasoline. Prosecutors have rejected that claim and said surveillance video does not support self-defense. Jenkins said prosecutors expected defense lawyers to present facts in a way that helped their client, but the district attorney’s office viewed the video and other evidence differently. Amil’s wife, who has declined to be identified publicly, told KTVU that her family was devastated. “My husband is not a villain,” she said.

The charges include murder under California Penal Code 187(a), felony leaving the scene of an accident and an allegation that Amil used a deadly weapon, the automobile, in the killing. Prosecutors asked that he be held without bail, saying he posed a public safety risk. At a later hearing, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Lianne Dumas denied release, saying she found no less restrictive way to protect public safety and ensure Amil’s return to court. The judge also cited his alleged decision to leave after the collision. Amil pleaded not guilty to all charges on April 24. A preliminary hearing had been set for May 6, but the case was delayed when Amil moved to replace Morris as his attorney.

The shift in legal representation has become the latest turn in the case. Morris told Judge Brian Stretch that Amil and his family wanted him relieved as counsel. Attorney Robert Waggener appeared as a possible new lawyer and was expected back in court May 15 for a formal decision on representation. Outside court, Amil’s father, Zhivago Redon, said he believed the murder charge was unfair and questioned how the district attorney reached that decision. Prosecutors have not backed away from the charge. They have said the heart of the case is the short span between the water hitting the car, the acceleration, the impact, the fall from the hood and the vehicle continuing forward over Spillman’s body.

Spillman’s death also brought grief across parts of San Francisco’s music and LGBTQ+ communities. Friends described her as a longtime city resident, a transgender elder and a regular presence at guitar shops. She loved guitars, thrift stores, daily walks and music ranging from classic rock to bluegrass, friends told local outlets. Connor McKeon, a Guitar Center employee, said Spillman often brought sweets or fruit when she visited and knew workers by name. “Dannielle Spillman was just one of the nicest, most personable people,” McKeon said. Friends said she had been miscast in some early descriptions of the case and wanted her remembered as a full person, not only as a victim in a violent street encounter.

The location is one of San Francisco’s busiest street zones, where drivers leaving gas stations and car washes meet people walking along Mission Street and South Van Ness Avenue. Prosecutors said the confrontation began because the Mercedes blocked part of the sidewalk as Amil tried to enter traffic. The district attorney’s account places that sidewalk obstruction at the center of the fatal chain of events. The defense places greater weight on what Amil says he feared inside the vehicle. Those two views are now headed toward a courtroom test, with video, witness accounts and Amil’s actions after impact expected to shape the next stage of the case.

Amil remains jailed as the murder case moves forward. The next milestone is the court’s confirmation of his defense representation, followed by a rescheduled preliminary hearing where a judge will decide whether prosecutors have enough evidence to proceed toward trial.

Author note: Last updated May 19, 2026.