Sex worker convicted of fatally shooting customer in the eye after he asked for a refund

SAN FRANCISCO (TCN) -- A 21-year-old sex worker has been convicted of fatally shooting a client who asked for his money back.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California announced March 31 that a federal jury found Leion Butler, who also goes by Leniyah Butler, guilty of voluntary manslaughter. The jury acquitted Butler of second-degree murder. She is set to be sentenced on June 27 and faces a maximum sentence of 15 years and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution.

According to prosecutors, on Nov. 12, 2023, Butler performed a sex act on the victim. He reportedly asked the defendant for a refund and to exit the car. The U.S. Attorney’s office said Butler then shot the victim once in the eye before stealing his vehicle and driving to Hunters Point. Authorities say Butler tried to clean any fingerprints and DNA and "spent the rest of that morning scattering the physical evidence, including the murder weapon."

According to an initial release from the U.S. Attorney’s office, witnesses later found the victim’s body at Crissy Field East Beach in the parking lot with a single gunshot wound to his head.

Three days later, authorities recovered the victim’s vehicle, which remained parked on a street in the Hunters Point neighborhood in San Francisco. Authorities observed the defendant on surveillance footage arriving with the victim’s car, exiting, and then talking into a cellphone. A second car reportedly arrived, and the defendant spoke with the driver. She then allegedly gathered items from the victim’s car, entered the second vehicle, and left the scene.

Acting United States Attorney Patrick Robbins said, "We extend our sincere condolences to the victim’s family, whose son and brother was taken from them prematurely, and hope today’s verdict brings some measure of justice."

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