San Francisco official apologizes to murdered teen's mom after unknowingly helping killer with letter to judge
15-year-old Day'von Hann was gunned down by gang member Fernando Madrigal in July 2019
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A San Francisco supervisor apologized to the mother of a 15-year-old, who was gunned down by a gang member who she had previously helped to receive leniency in court.
Day’von Hann was shot and killed by now-25-year-old Fernando Madrigal in July 2019 in what was believed to be a gang-related incident between the Norteños gang and its rivals. Madrigal mistakenly targeted Hann, who was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"In an awful twist of events, the man who later admitted to killing Day’von was someone I had previously tried to help," Supervisor Hillary Ronen said before the Board of Supervisors and Hann's mother Sha'ray Johnson on Tuesday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I want to apologize to her [Johnson]. I want to apologize to Day’von," she continued.
Believing that Madrigal had reformed himself and was no longer involved in criminal activity, Ronen wrote a letter to a judge to help him get off probation early for a prior carjacking conviction.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}15-year-old Day'von Hann was fatally shot by Fernando Madrigal in July 2019. (Fox & Friends First/Screengrab)
Johnson, speaking to FOX News on Thursday, discussed the apology and the crime that left her devastated.
"My son should be here. My son deserved to live," she told "Fox & Friends First." "I myself, being a former foster child, doing foster care, I believe in second chances, so I understand trying to give somebody a second chance to help, but it wasn't hard to look into this individual at the time. She [Ronen] didn't have access to the records for Day'von, but he has prior things that he did that she could have very easily saw who he actually was."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Before being nabbed for killing Hann, Madrigal posed as a reformed anti-crime advocate and even joined a rally for criminal justice reforms at City Hall, attended by both Ronen and Johnson.
Ronen said Madrigal had "renounced violence and the gang life" and even reportedly "embraced" Johnson, the mother of the boy he would later be arrested for killing, at the event.
Madrigal was indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2020 in the murder of Hann and another man while wounding a third. He now awaits sentencing after pleading guilty in the murder case.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The letter was written after the 2019 murder but before authorities had zeroed in on Madrigal as the suspect.
Ronen admitted to the San Francisco Standard that she "wrote a letter to help someone too quickly without doing my due diligence."
"I'll never make that mistake again," she told the outlet.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Supervisor Hillary Ronen speaks during a rally at the Behavioral Health Center at 887 Potrero Avenue on Thursday, August, 22, 2019 in San Francisco, CA. (Lea Suzuki/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Johnson claimed Thursday that Madrigal had "worked with San Francisco mayor office on several events" and "played a role in getting juvenile hall shut down" before his indictment.
FOX News Digital reached out to the San Francisco mayor's office but has not received a response.
Johnson remembered her son as bright, bubbly, and pure, adding he loved sports, music and helping his friends.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"He was love," she said.
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