Suspect held in slaying of S.F. policeman

SAN FRANCISCO, April 12 (UPI) -- A 21-year-old suspect was held Monday in the weekend slaying of a plainclothes San Francisco police officer and the wounding of his partner.

The San Francisco Chronicle said David Hill was picked up in nearby San Ramon Sunday afternoon based on an anonymous telephone tip and booked on suspicion of murder in the death of Officer Issac Espinoza.

Espinoza, 29, and his partner, Barry Parker, were allegedly shot with an automatic rifle as they approached a suspicious character Saturday night while working an anti-gang detail in the city's rough Bayview District.

Parker was treated and released, but Espinoza was pronounced dead on arrival at San Francisco General. He was the first SFPD officer to be shot to death in the line of duty since 1994.

Mayor Gavin Newsome said late Sunday the city had already been increasing its anti-crime efforts in violence-plagued Bayview.