Steven Petrilli, Accused in Murder of Officer Nick-Tomasito Birco, Faces Trial Today

Officer Nick-Tomasito Birco, killed in 2006

​Four years after the death of San Francisco Police Officer Nick-Tomasito Birco, the trial of one of the men accused of his murder is scheduled to commence today.

Steven Petrilli, 24, is facing murder charges stemming from a 2006 incident in which he allegedly committed a robbery on Bayshore Boulevard, fled in a stolen van, and, after a wild chase, collided with Birco's patrol car at the corner of Cambridge and Felton after blowing a stop sign.

Petrilli, the van's alleged driver, is also facing charges of conspiracy to commit a crime, robbery, vehicular manslaughter in the commission of a crime, willful flight from a peace officer causing death, and theft and unlawful driving of a vehicle. His trial has been separated from that of co-defendants Carl Lather and Nicholas Smith.

At the time of the July 2006 robbery and collision that cost Birco his life, Petrilli was on probation in both San Francisco and San Mateo counties, had made bail on charges of burglary and sex with a 13-year-old, and had led police on three prior high-speed chases.

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