* San Francisco 1996 Murder At The El Toro Nightclub Both Men Julio Melendez And Jose Fuente Finally Convicted For Murder Of Jose Quesada

Published by Staff Writer on June 19, 2009

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A man has been convicted of first-degree murder for a 1996 shooting following an argument at a San Francisco nightclub, prosecutors said today.On Nov. 21, 1996, Jose Quesada got into an argument with two men at the El Toro nightclub in the city’s Portola District, according to the district attorney’s office.The men, Julio Melendez and Jose Fuente, followed Quesada to Woodward Street in the Mission District and shot him seven times, killing him, prosecutors said. Both were indicted for murder by a criminal grand jury in 1997.Fuente was convicted of manslaughter in 2004. Melendez was not found until June of last year, when he was arrested in June in Virginia, and returned to San Francisco to stand trial.On Wednesday, a San Francisco Superior Court jury found Melendez, 39, guilty of first-degree murder and of firearm possession by a felon, according to the district attorney’s office.A sentencing date has not yet been set.