San Leandro Man Sentenced For Shooting, Released From Jail

SAN LEANDRO, CA — A San Leandro man accused of shooting a Burlingame man in the head at a 2012 Fort Mason Halloween party was sentenced Monday to nine years in prison, but the man is already out of custody due to credit for time served.

Hun Chu Saelee, 35, was tried in April on four counts of attempted murder and four counts of assault with a semiautomatic firearm in connection with an Oct. 28, 2012 shooting that left Ben Pessah, then 21, in a nearly
month-long coma with a severe head injury.

However the jury hung on the counts related to Pessah, and acquitted Saelee on charges relating to three of Pessah's companions, who were not injured.

Prosecutors alleged Saelee shot Pessah and fired at his friends outside a party at Fort Mason around 12:40 a.m. after a dispute that started when he allegedly grabbed Pessah's girlfriend's breast.

However Deputy Public Defender Vilaska Nguyen portrayed the shooting as self-defense, alleging that the group had attacked Saelee using racial epithets and pursued him toward his car, where the gun was stored.

Saelee had no prior arrest record and had obtained a concealed weapons permit after being shot in a previous attack in 2004.

Prosecutors considered recharging Saelee but last month reached a deal in which he pleaded guilty to one count of assault with a semi-automatic firearm.

Saelee was sentenced to nine years in prison but had already served nearly five years in jail prior to his release from custody in mid-May. With credit for time served, he will remain out of custody and serve the three years on supervised parole.

"Mr. Saelee is looking forward to moving on with his life, raising his daughter, and giving back to his community," Nguyen said.

— Bay City News; Image via Shutterstock

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