Valentino Cash Amil, who is facing murder charges after running over and killing 74-year-old Dannielle Spillman with his car at the intersection of South Van Ness and Mission on April 13, will remain in county jail until his preliminary hearing, San Francisco superior court judge Lianne Dumas ruled on Friday morning.
“I am finding, by clear and convincing evidence, that there is no less restrictive means at this time to ensure the public safety and to compel court attendance, other than the defendant remaining in custody for now,” said Dumas. “I am denying your motion for release today.”
Earlier in the hearing, Amil pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Amil’s attorney, Seth Morris, argued that Amil understood the severity of the charges against him and he had remorse for what happened. Furthermore, he added, Amil is a family man with strong community ties and no criminal history, which makes him unlikely to commit another crime, or attempt to flee the area and avoid prosecution if he were released.
Amil, he continued, had merely perceived the septuagenarian Spillman, who walked to the front of Amil’s car and exchanged words with him, as a threat to his family, and acted in a moment of panic to protect them.
Morris added that he had found that multiple people had filed restraining orders against Spillman over the last three decades.
Amil would not have known this on April 13, however, when he ran over Spillman with his car.
Mission Local discovered a temporary restraining order Amil filed in 2024 against two men from San Jose. Among other alleged threats, Amil wrote that the men had told him they’d run him or family members over with a car.
Both Amil and the alleged aggressors failed to appear at a hearing on March 21, 2024. The request for a restraining order was dismissed without prejudice.
In court today, Judge Dumas was not convinced by Morris’ claim that Amil feared for his life. Even if the 74-year-old Spillman appeared threatening, she said, that did not justify running her over with a car.
Amil’s behavior after hitting Spillman was also a strong reason to keep him incarcerated, Dumas said. “The fact that the defendant … did stop at the scene and then, even after surveying the scene, chose to leave when there were reasonable alternatives, also causes me concern about the ability of the defendant to follow court orders and to return to court for future proceedings.”
In a video of the incident, Spillman, who is on foot walks in front of Amil’s car, which is blocking the sidewalk. They briefly exchanged words before Amil accelerated rapidly, first hitting Spillman and then running her over.
Additional footage, said city prosecutor Edward Mario, shows that Amil pulled into the gas station at South Van Ness Avenue and Mission Street after running over Spillman, parked and waited there for about a minute and a half, before fleeing at the sound of sirens.
“We hear a siren and then immediately see the defendant jogging back to his car — he absolutely fled the area,” said Mario. “He knew what he had done. He knew he had run over somebody, and he was afraid of submitting to authority.”
Amil was arrested not long after in Potrero Hill, added Mario, which meant that he was driving in the opposite direction from where he lived.
As Dumas read her resolution, Cash Amil burst into tears as he yelled “I’m sorry,” extending his arms towards family members sitting behind him in the courtroom.
As sheriff’s deputies walked Amil out of the courtroom, his family, also in tears, extended their arms toward him.
“My grandson is innocent,” yelled an older woman, in tears outside the courtroom.
“It was an accident.”
Amil’s preliminary hearing is set for May 6. The defendant will have another opportunity at that time to request a motion to be released.
