Burlingame Man's Accused Shooter Appears in Court

A man accused of shooting a Burlingame man outside of a party at San Francisco's Fort Mason on Sunday made his initial appearance in court today in front of several family members and friends of the victim, who remains in a coma.

Hun Saelee, 30, of San Leandro, was ordered held by San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Ulmer on $10 million bail and will return to court on Thursday to be assigned an attorney and possibly enter a plea.

Saelee is charged with four counts of attempted murder for the shooting, which occurred around 12:40 a.m. Sunday on Marina Boulevard near Fort Mason, where a Halloween costume party was taking place, police said.

The victim, Ben Pessah, 21, was leaving the party with his girlfriend, Carissa Harper, 20, and two other people when Saelee allegedly grabbed her chest, Harper said outside of court.

Harper said Saelee "was looking for a fight" and eventually went to the trunk of a car where he got a gun and came back and started pointing it at people.

"It was so scary," Harper said. "We don't know what provoked it, why he wanted to fight."

Pessah tried to run but Saelee opened fire, striking him in the head. He was taken to San Francisco General Hospital with injuries that are considered life-threatening, police said.

Saelee, who was wearing camouflage-style clothing, fled in a white four-door vehicle with a woman, later identified as Judy Lau, 26, according to police.

The pair was eventually tracked later Sunday to a home in San Leandro where officers found Saelee still wearing the same clothes as the night before, police said.

A white Acura matching witness descriptions of the suspect vehicle was parked in the driveway of the home and officers also found a handgun possibly used in the shooting on the floorboard of the car, police said.

Lau has been charged with being an accessory to the crime after the fact but posted bail on Tuesday. She will return to court with Saelee on Thursday, prosecutors said.

Meanwhile, Pessah remains at the hospital in a medically induced coma, his girlfriend Harper said.

"It's a day-by-day thing," she said. "Thank God he's such a strong kid."

Family members have created an online account to raise money to pay for Pessah's medical expenses. The account had raised more than $8,400 as of this afternoon.

People interested in donating to the account can visit http://gofundme.com/1f0bb0.

--Bay City News

Get daily local breaking news with our daily newsletter |  | Like Burlingame-Hillsborough Patch on Facebook | Blog for Burlingame-Hillsborough Patch |Follow Burlingame-Hillsborough Patch on Twitter