Man Shot by Police Near SFO Facing 3 Years in Prison

By Bay City News Service.

REDWOOD CITY, CA- A man shot by a San Francisco police officer while attempting to carjack drivers near San Francisco International Airport after crashing a stolen car there last year pleaded no contest to attempted kidnapping and auto theft on Monday and will likely be sent to prison.

Daniel Frederick, 25, was hospitalized for three days after he was shot in the abdomen by the San Francisco police officer on July 26.

The San Mateo County District Attorney's Office initially charged him with seven counts -- attempted carjacking, attempted kidnapping, second-degree robbery, vehicle theft, receipt of stolen property, resisting a police officer and hit-and-run -- but he pleaded guilty to only two counts on Monday. Prosecutors said the maximum sentence he will likely receive is three years and two months in prison.

Shortly after the crash, police Chief Greg Suhr called a news conference to give a detailed account of what led to the shooting.

According to police and prosecutors, Frederick had stolen a Toyota Yaris from the Millbrae BART station at about 6:50 a.m. while its owner was running the San Francisco Marathon. He quickly crashed the car into a light pole on South Airport Boulevard near the North Access Road to the airport. He walked away from the crashed car and hid nearby, shedding his jacket and emerging wearing a yellow T-shirt.

A police officer on a motorcycle noticed him and tried to talk to him. After a few minutes, the officer ordered Frederick to put down a backpack he was holding but Frederick ran away, heading west on San Bruno Avenue, prosecutors said.

Frederick then jumped into a car stopped at a stoplight and threatened the driver, ordering him to drive away, police said. The police officer caught up with him and, thinking the driver might be an accomplice, ordered him at gunpoint not to go anywhere.

The driver put his hands up and refused to help the suspect escape. Frederick ran again, taking the driver's backpack with him. He fled down a dirt road and hid in some bushes near U.S. Highway 101. Several other officers found Frederick in the bushes and ordered him out.

Eventually he fled again and tried to get into several other cars parked along a frontage road there but couldn't. An officer again ordered him to stop at gunpoint. Frederick turned toward him and started approaching.

The officer, whose name has not been released, fired one shot but missed and Frederick kept coming, saying "shoot me, kill me" as he approached, prosecutors said. The officer shot him in the abdomen.

Frederick has remained in jail since he was released from the hospital. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 23, according to prosecutors.