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At the time, Fowlie was watching Temple closely, waiting for him to violate the terms of the probation he received as part of his 1987 sentence for statutory rape. Under the probation agreement, Temple could not carry a firearm.
After the April shooting, street sources told Fowlie that Temple was packing a gun. But Fowlie was playing against time; the probation would expire at the end of 1990.
On the afternoon of May 22, 1990, shots were fired in the Army Street projects on the back side of Potrero Hill. Police informants attributed the shots to Temple, who, the informants said, was gunning for Hill. The shots missed their target -- at least that afternoon.
That evening, however, was stained by one of the bloodiest drive-by shootings in the history of a Sunnydale-Hunters Point gang war that has included dozens of rolling gun battles. The carnage at Third Street and Palou Avenue is still legendary in police circles. Homicide detectives -- Hendrix in particular -- are still looking for some of the shooters.
The massacre began this way, according to Hendrix: Hill was cruising in a car filled with fellow Sunnydale gangbangers, one named Harold Kyer (who happened to be another of Mayor Agnos' gang experts). Hill spotted Temple's car in traffic. But Temple was not in it or anywhere near the intersection of Third and Palou. Temple's car was being used by a friend who was giving a ride home to two Omega Boys.
Hill wanted desperately to get at Temple's car, but there was a car in between, driven by Kim Sturdivant, an innocent bystander. Hill started ramming Sturdivant's car with his own, trying to get her out of the way. But her car spun out, ending up side by side with Hill's car, still blocking the way to Temple's vehicle. "Shoot the bitch," Hill ordered one of his gangmates, and a shotgun blast ended Sturdivant's 24-year life.
Temple told Fowlie he was the intended target, and the incident does appear to have been a retaliation for the shooting earlier in the day on Army Street. In all, two vehicles and five people were shot up. A pregnant girl standing on the corner -- her name was Muffin -- also died.
Hill was subsequently convicted of Sturdivant's murder and is serving a life sentence in Mule Creek Prison.
After the Third and Palou massacre, Fowlie was intent on getting Temple off the street. Otherwise, the cycle of retribution would only escalate. Temple soon offered himself up on a silver legal platter.
The California Highway Patrol arrested Temple in Modesto for carrying a stolen .357 Magnum pistol. In fact, the pistol had been stolen from the Highway Patrol. Possessing the weapon constituted a violation of Temple's parole, and the San Francisco Probation Department planned on revoking his probation at his next scheduled court appearance. That would have been June 14.
Bayview-Hunters Point exploded in gang warfare -- again -- on June 12 and 13. Gang attacks and gunshots ricocheted all over the neighborhood, culminating in a melee on Whitney Young Circle, which borders Ridgetop Park in the heart of Hunters Point.
On June 13, more than 100 mourners, a mixture of members of several different gangs who were drunk or high on drugs or both, poured out of a funeral for a Hunters Point gang member. They started shooting up the general area with semiautomatic weapons. Fowlie's police unit was among those answering the call. "Among this crowd were nearly all the known gangmembers from Shoreview, Harbor Road, Northridge, Oakdale and Baldwin, the Flatlands to the 3 The Hard Way crew," Fowlie reported at the time.
Bernard Temple was there too. And Fowlie saw his chance to nab the Soul-Jacker for a clear probation violation. Temple gave the officer permission to search his house, Fowlie's report states. The officer discovered more than enough to end Temple's probation.
What Fowlie found may not have constituted legal proof that Temple was the Soul-Jacker, a complete, badass killer. But the haul, as listed in a police report, is impressive, nonetheless:
One Chinese AKS-762 assault rifle.
A red S.F. 49ers knit cap with eyeholes cut out.
One black Oakland Raiders knit cap with two eyeholes cut out.
One side-kick shoulder holster.
One black knit cap with two eyeholes cut out.
One box of Remington .38-caliber ammo containing 25 live rounds.
One box of Winchester AA plus Trap Loads 12-gauge shotgun shells containing 15 live shells.
One camouflage flak jacket.
Three magazines loaded with live rounds for an AKS-762.
A Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun.
Two thousand dollars in U.S. currency.
In court, Temple pled guilty to violating his parole and was sentenced to three years in San Quentin State Prison. It seemed Fowlie had succeeded in eliminating, until 1993 at least, one of the motivating forces for the deadly cycle of retribution and death in Hunters Point.
But Temple did less than one year in prison and was back on the streets in June 1991. Almost immediately, it is alleged, he picked up another murder contract.
A warm summer afternoon fades into evening. Around 6:30 p.m., Jacky Williams makes a fatal decision: He buys some beer and snacks at H&K Liquors and Delicatessen in Hunters Point, one block from the desecrated Alice Griffith projects.
The deadly nature of this decision is connected to a decision Williams made earlier, when he broke into the home of a major crack supplier and stole large amounts of drugs and cash.
