Slain gay security guard ‘had little, and gave a lot’

by John Ferrannini

The friend of a gay Native American security guard who was shot and killed in San Francisco’s Japantown earlier this month remembered him as someone who “was always striving to make his dreams come true, and summoned the dreams of others without judgment.”

The life of 40-year-old Gavin Boston was tragically cut short January 4 just after 5 p.m. at 1581 Webster Street in Japantown. His longtime friend Castle Russell, a nonbinary lesbian, reached out to the Bay Area Reporter to share more about who Boston was because they didn’t like people making comments on social media sharing “reactionary” sentiments.

San Francisco police arrested a 15-yearold boy in connection with Boston’s death who was charged with suspicion of murder. His name has not been released, because of his age. He pleaded not guilty on January 9. A 14-year-old who did not appear in court that day was arrested on suspicion of accessory to murder.

Police said the teenagers were in a dispute with Boston outside a collectibles shop in Japantown when the guard was fatally shot, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

While Boston was gay and Native American, “he was also straight passing and white passing, and as a result some people on the internet have used his death to fortify their racist and classist beliefs,” according to Russell.

The two met in Orange County “before either of us moved to San Francisco,” Russell said, which was in early 2009.

“Gavin came up to San Francisco because he – and I can’t speak entirely for him – but it was my understanding that he grew up in Northern California and left home at a very young age, like 15, to come to San Francisco to get away from a homophobic small town,” Russell said.