Driver in viral 2021 SF sideshow photo arrested, prosecutors say

More than two years after a photo of a woman hanging out of a Cadillac and holding an AK-47 went viral, federal prosecutors say they have charged a Hayward man who was driving the car with firearm possession, and authorities have Instagram users to thank.

Christopher Gonzalez-Nuñez, who is accused of having ties to the Norteños gang in San Francisco’s Mission District, was identified by Instagram users, according to federal prosecutors. The woman in the viral photo is believed to be his “significant other,” according to court filings, which describe a criminal history for the suspect that includes a battery conviction, and an arrest for assault, robbery and domestic violence.

“Not only does the car match a vehicle that Gonzalez-Nuñez owned at the time, but Instagram users tagged him in photos from the incident and mentioned him by name,” assistant U.S. Attorney Leif Dautch wrote in a legal motion. 

“Perhaps most tellingly, Gonzalez-Nuñez posted a photo on his Instagram account of what appears to be him wearing a T-shirt depicting his significant other leaning out of his car holding the gun,” he added.

In 2021, police said in a statement on Twitter, now known as X, that the woman was in the passenger seat of a speeding car on July 11 at Barneveld Avenue and McKinnon Avenue in the Bayview neighborhood near Highway 101.

The case against Gonzalez-Nuñez is separate from the incident depicted in the photo.

The FBI raided Gonzalez-Nuñez’s home in Hayward on Woodroe Avenue in June. Authorities said they found three guns, including two pistols without serial numbers, and ammunition in a backpack that was thrown over a fence. DNA later linked the suspect to the backpack and its contents, authorities said. In California, it is illegal for a felon to own a firearm.