Police arrest suspect in Polk Street homicide [Updated]

Police arrest suspect in Polk Street homicide [Updated]Polk and Sutter streets. | Photo: Google Maps
Nathan Falstreau
Published on September 19, 2018

Police have arrested a suspect in connection with a shooting homicide that occurred along a busy stretch of Polk Street early Monday morning. 

The 27-year-old suspect, identified as San Francisco resident Jose Manuel Beltran, allegedly shot and killed 23-year-old Victor Sosa, also of San Francisco, at about 2:34 a.m. on September 17, on the 1100 block of Polk Street (between Post and Sutter streets).

According to updated reports from SFPD, officers from Northern Station initially responded to calls of a possible vehicle collision. At the scene, they found a black Toyota Corolla and a gray Honda Civic that had been involved in a crash. 

As officers approached the Toyota, the driver, identified as Sosa, was suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. 

Officers called for an ambulance and began CPR, until they were relieved by paramedics. However, Sosa was pronounced dead at the scene. 

An investigation by SFPD's homicide unit revealed that Beltran had been a passenger in the rear seat of Sosa's car. He was located by officers at approximately 3 p.m. later that day, and has been booked into the SF County Jail.

Beltran is being charged with manslaughter, carrying a concealed firearm in a vehicle, and carrying a loaded firearm in public. 

Due to pending identification matters, his booking photo is not being released by police at this time. 

Update, 9/20, 9:42 a.m.: According to a report in the Examiner, Beltran allegedly killed Sosa accidentally, while drunkenly waving a pistol to the beat of music in the car's backseat as Sosa drove.

The pair had been out drinking with a female friend, who was seated in the front passenger seat at the time of the shooting and managed to stop the car. After shooting Sosa, Beltran allegedly ran away and got rid of the gun. 

A GoFundMe page created by Sosa's mother for funeral expenses describes his family as "a very humble family of low resources from Guatemala," and notes that he is survived by a two-year-old child.


Anyone who has information about any of these incidents is encouraged to contact SFPD via the department's anonymous tip line at (415) 575-4444, or text TIP411 with "SFPD" at the start of the message.

Here’s why we usually don’t include suspect descriptions in crime reports.