Valentino Cash Amil was charged with murder, among other charges, in connection with the death of Dannielle Spillman
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NEED TO KNOW
- Valentino Cash Amil was accused of running over Dannielle Spillman outside a San Francisco gas station on April 13
- Prosecutors say Amil intentionally struck Spillman after she spilled water on his car, while he claims it was self-defense
- On April 24, Amil was charged with murder, felony leaving the scene of an accident and a deadly weapon enhancement tied to the use of the vehicle
A man is facing a murder charge after he allegedly intentionally ran over and killed an elderly woman in San Francisco.
Valentino Cash Amil, 30, was accused of purposefully using his 2024 Mercedes-Benz E350 sedan to strike Dannielle Spillman, 74, outside a gas station on April 13.
Amil was charged with murder, felony leaving the scene of an accident and a deadly weapon enhancement tied to the use of the vehicle, according to an April 16 news release from the San Francisco District Attorney's office.
He pleaded not guilty on April 24 and was denied bail, per ABC News. He will return to court for a May 6 preliminary hearing.
On the day of the fatal incident, Amil had just filled up his vehicle at a Chevron gas station on Mission Street. He was pulling out of the parking lot to merge into traffic; however, his vehicle blocked the sidewalk where Spillman was walking, the D.A.'s office said, citing court documents. Spillman appeared to take issue with Amil's vehicle blocking the sidewalk and confronted him.
The two exchanged words and Spillman walked in front of Amil's car before she "spilled liquid onto the hood" from a water bottle. Amil is accused of accelerating his vehicle into Spillman, knocking her onto the hood and windshield of his Mercedes.
"According to eyewitnesses, Mr. Amil then allegedly drove off, running over the victim and not stopping," per the D.A.'s office. Medics arrived, and Spillman was pronounced dead less than 10 minutes later. Amil was later arrested by the San Francisco Police Department without incident.
Judge Lianne Dumas cited Amil's alleged decision to leave the scene as the reason he would be denied bail. “The fact that the defendant … did stop at the scene and then, even after surveying the scene, chose to leave when there were reasonable alternatives, also causes me concern about the ability of the defendant to follow court orders and to return to court for future proceedings,” she said, according to Mission Local.
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Amil's defense attorney, Seth Morris, has argued that his client was acting in self-defense in fear that Spillman poured gasoline on the car, that he, his wife and their two children were in.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins argued that the prosecution's “view” of the evidence negates Morris' self-defense argument, per ABC 7.
City Prosecutor Edward Mario added, “He knew what he had done. He knew he had run over somebody, and he was afraid of submitting to authority,” Mission Local reported.
The San Francisco District Attorney's office did not provide additional information when contacted by PEOPLE.
Before the April 16 court appearance, Amil's wife told ABC 7, "We're hanging in there." His grandmother tearfully yelled outside the courtroom after the ruling that Amil is innocent. “It was an accident," she said, per Mission Local.
PEOPLE reached out to Morris for comment.
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