Man convicted in San Francisco killing of Afghan refugee

SAN FRANCISCO - A 39-year-old man has been convicted of first-degree murder for shooting and killing an Afghan refugee during a robbery in San Francisco's Potrero Hill neighborhood in 2021, prosecutors announced Friday.

Clifford Stokes was on trial for the killing of Ahmed Yusufi, a 31-year-old man, early on the morning of Nov. 28, 2021, in the area of Potrero Avenue and Cesar Chavez Street, according to the San Francisco District Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors said Stokes pulled up next to Yusufi and another person who were in a parked car, then pointed a handgun at the pair and demanded money. The two victims tried to hand over property to Stokes, who shot and killed Yusufi.

Stokes was arrested weeks later and a San Francisco Superior Court jury found him guilty of the first-degree murder charge, as well as robbery, attempted robbery, shooting into an occupied vehicle, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

"This verdict delivers justice for Mr. Yusufi's family and a wake-up call to perpetrators; we as a community reject violence and will ensure that perpetrators face consequences," District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in the announcement of the conviction.

Stokes faces 50 years to life in prison when he is sentenced at a later date, prosecutors said.