Suspect Arrested In Murder of Afghan Refugee Working As Lyft/Uber Driver In San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Police arrested an Oakland man for the murder last month of an Afghan refugee and father who was working as a Lyft and Uber driver in San Francisco.
San Francisco police on Friday identified the suspect as 38-year-old Clifford Lavern Stokes. He was arrested Thursday without incident in the area of Market and 6th St. in Oakland.
Stokes is suspected of killing 31-year-old Ahmad Fawad Yusufi, who was taking a break in his vehicle parked along the curb on Potrero Ave. near Cesar Chavez St. on November 28 after a long night of working.
His family told KPIX 5 someone pulled up near Yusufi's vehicle, brandished a gun and demanded Yusufi's wallet and phone.
"My brother tried to move his body to get the wallet and everything for him. Then he shot him. Exactly in the heart," said Mohammad Dawood, the victim's brother.
San Francisco police said officers responded just before 5 a.m. to reports of a shooting and found Yusufi suffering from a gunshot wound. He was taken to a hospital where he died of his injuries.
According to Dawood, Yusufi served alongside U.S. troops in Afghanistan for nine years but fled the country as American forces began pulling out. Yusufi relocated his family to Sacramento in 2018.
Yusufi is survived by his wife, and three children ages 10, 3 and 4 months.
Stokes was booked in San Francisco County Jail on charges of murder, robbery, receiving stolen property, and fraudulent use of a credit card.
The investigation remained open and police urged anyone with information to call the SFPD Tip Line at 1-415-575-4444 or text an anonymous message to TIP411 and begin the text message with SFPD.
