SF Filmmaker Kevin Epps Convicted of Manslaughter, Not Murder, in 2016 Shooting

San Francisco filmmaker and journalist Kevin Epps on Monday was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, nine years after he fatally shot his former partner’s ex-brother-in-law during an altercation at his family’s Glen Park home.

While prosecutors initially charged him with first-degree murder, the jury concluded that Epps did not act with malice but was still not justified to act in self-defense when he shot Marcus Polk on Oct. 24, 2016.

Epps was also found guilty of two counts of possession of a firearm as a felon, since he was barred from possessing the gun due to a nonviolent felony on his record from 15 years prior.

As the verdict was read, Epps sobbed quietly into his hands. Some supporters also began to cry, and in the hallway outside, others alleged prosecutorial misconduct. They’ve said Epps was targeted for his race and background, and throughout the trial, urged District Attorney Brooke Jenkins to drop charges.

Outside the courtroom, Epps’ spokesperson Julian Davis vowed to appeal.

“The prosecutor very deliberately misled this jury into drawing inferences that were not supported by the evidence at trial or facts known independently to him,” Davis said. “On appeal, there’s going to be very strong grounds for an overturning, even of this voluntary manslaughter conviction.”

Epps shot Polk in the left arm and torso shortly after Polk entered the Glen Park residence of his ex-wife’s sister, Maryam Jhan. She lived in the home with her and Epps’ two children. Polk was unhoused and recently out of jail at the time.

Defense attorneys said Epps, Jhan’s partner, also lived in the home, though prosecutors suggested during the trial that he had moved out months prior.

The house was a gathering place for Jhan’s extended family — her sister, Starr Gul, and the three children she had with Polk were often present. Prosecutors said Jhan also allowed Polk to come over to visit his children, take showers and watch television on a fairly regular basis.

The night before the shooting, Polk showed up at the home late, banging on the door, before Epps turned him away. He returned the next day, high on methamphetamine and cannabis, and was again told to leave.

Still, he entered the house.

Defense attorney Darlene Comstedt said Polk had barged into the home, acting “erratically” and threatening to “air out” Epps. He’d just gotten in a verbal altercation with maintenance workers out front. She argued that Epps was acting in self-defense when he opened fire.

Polk is a registered sex offender and had prior convictions for domestic abuse against Gul, lewd acts with a child, second-degree robbery and drug possession. But his criminal record was not permitted to be revealed to jurors after prosecutors argued that it did not have bearing on whether he was likely to commit homicidal violence.

During trial, prosecutors said that Polk didn’t pose an immediate threat of danger because he wasn’t armed, and that he was faced away from Epps when he was shot.

Rather than fear, Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Schmidt argued, Epps had been motivated by a simmering dispute between the men over Polk’s frequent visits to the house. Schmidt described Polk as a part of the family and said he had a friendly relationship with Jhan.

Epps’ arrest in connection with the shooting in 2016 was a shock for many San Franciscans.

He had risen to local fame in the early 2000s for his series of documentaries on the experience of Black San Franciscans, including Straight Outta Hunter’s Point, about the neighborhood where he grew up. He went on to work on a later film with acclaimed director Spike Lee.

Days after the shooting, then-District Attorney George Gascón elected not to charge Epps, saying there was insufficient evidence, but in 2019, he was arrested again and charged with murder and illegal possession of a firearm.

The charges were based on new three-dimensional computer-generated re-creations of the shooting that appeared to show Polk could have been facing away from Epps when he shot, throwing into question his self-defense claim.

The images were ultimately withdrawn over objections from the defense, but Gul — the sole witness of the shooting — corroborated the possibility in a preliminary hearing that year. During trial, her testimony was key to the prosecutors’ case, though under cross-examination, Comstedt questioned a number of changes to her recollection of the event over time.

Epps was granted bail in 2020, which is highly unusual in a murder case, after more than 600 people petitioned the court; a dozen others, including Jhan and Supervisor Matt Haney, wrote letters urging his release.

He has been out of custody most of the time he was awaiting trial. He currently serves as the executive editor of the San Francisco Bay View, a publication focused on the Black community. Earlier this year, he won the Northern California Society for Professional Journalists’ Silver Heart Award for his work.

How long of a sentence Epps will face depends on the jury’s decision on several aggravating sentencing factors that the district attorney’s office plans to argue later Monday. A prior conviction could also double his sentence if it’s deemed a strike.

Voluntary manslaughter carries a sentence of up to 11 years in prison.

Dec. 17: This article was updated to clarify the relationship between Kevin Epps and multiple members of his family.