By Neal Putnam
A preliminary hearing of Feb. 3, 2022, has been set for a man suspected of using an unregistered “ghost gun” to shoot five men in Downtown San Diego in April including Justice Boldin, an Ace parking attendant who died.
Travis Fereydoun Sarreshteh, 33, is accused of murder in the April 22 death of Boldin, 28, and four counts of attempted murder of four men who survived their wounds.
San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit announced at a press conference that Sarreshteh shot the victims with an unregistered polymer “ghost gun” that was assembled, possibly from a prepackaged kit that was mailed to him.
Sarreshteh was irritated at his girlfriend for not staying with him at a Courtyard Marriott hotel on Broadway and he left her apartment at 10:20 p.m. very angry, according to a prosecution document.
Sarreshteh walked to the Pendry Hotel, which was just a block away, and shot Boldin, at “point blank range,” the document says. He paced for 20 seconds and then shot the valet while he was on the ground.
Surveillance cameras caught footage of Sarreshteh shooting the parking valet and also showed him walking away at Fifth Avenue and J Street.
The gunman walked away and encountered three people who later told police he demanded the group salute him, according to court records. One man saluted him and he continued walking.
Several minutes later, Sarreshteh was walking on a sidewalk on Fifth Avenue and walked between three New Jersey men, who separated to allow him to pass.
One man was heard laughing, and Sarreshteh turned around and fired shots at the men, wounding all three and a fourth man behind them.
Two bystanders tackled Sarreshteh, who appeared to have problems with the gun. San Diego Police officers arrested him within 30 seconds after the bystanders tackled him.
Once in a patrol car, Sarreshteh apologized to officers, saying “I really thought I was protecting the city, I’m sorry,” according to the prosecution document.
Court documents say Sarreshteh was arrested in 2017 for threatening his girlfriend and police seized another unregistered polymer “ghost gun” from him, which was not returned to him.
Sarreshteh has pleaded not guilty to all counts and remains in the George Bailey Detention Facility without bail.
Neal Putnam is a local court reporter. Reach him at nealputnam@gmail.com.
