Landlord Arrested In Connection With Outer Sunset Homicide of Well Known Neighborhood Figure

A 68-year-old man was arrested in connection with the May 17 killing of Eric Bigone, a city employee and Outer Sunset resident. Bigone was shot outside his 46th Avenue home in the early hours of the morning two weeks earlier. Police believe Philippe Chagniot, Bigone’s landlord since 2023, was the masked bicyclist shown on surveillance footage released the previous week. Bigone grew up in the Outer Sunset and was known locally, including through social media hashtags tied to neighborhood identity. He had a criminal history, including a DUI-related fatal collision in 2004 and later vehicular manslaughter conviction, followed by sobriety efforts. No public motive has been stated. Bigone’s funeral is scheduled for June 10.

"Police believe that Chagniot, whose family owns the building where Bigone had been living, was the masked figure on a bicycle, carrying a long gone, seen on surveillance footage that was released by police last week."

"Bigone had grown up in the Outer Sunset and friends on social media were morning him with the hashtag #SDI, referring to either "Sunset District Irish" or "Sunset District Incorporated." The moniker was adopted by a group of mostly Irish kids who went to Catholic schools in the neighborhood, liked to party, and earned a reputation in the early 2000s for allegedly targeting minorities for harassment and "guarding" the neighborhood and Ocean Beach with their fists."

"Bigone had served some time in prison, being released in the last ten years or so and committing himself to sobriety. He had been arrested in 2004 after a fatal head-on collision in Lake County that was DUI-related, and later convicted of vehicular manslaughter. More recently, he had been working as a general laborer for the SF Public Utilities Commission."

"Chagniot had been Bigone's landlord since 2023, as Mission Local reports, and it's unclear if that was the extent of their relationship. No motive for the killing has been publicly discussed by police. Per Mission Local, Bigone's funeral is scheduled for June 10."

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