Schoolboy, 18, lured to his murder in remote San Francisco warehouse… now ‘EBOK’ graffiti tag could lead to first minor charged as adult in woke city in a decade

A graffiti tag left at the scene of a murdered teen could lead to San Francisco’s first minor charged as an adult in a decade.

Max Maltzman was found bludgeoned to death inside an abandoned warehouse in January 2023 when he was just 18 years old.

The only potential clue that had been left behind: the graffiti tag ‘EBOK’ that had been spray-painted above the victim, with an arrow pointing down, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Almost two years after his murder, police identified a suspect as Maltzman’s then-17-year-old high school classmate in November 2024.

Through interviews with classmates, investigators learned that the suspect, who is now 21 but has not been named due to his age at the time of the crime, is a graffiti artist who uses the ‘EBOK’ tag, the Chronicle reports.

Now, the San Francisco District Attorney’s is attempting to get the suspect charged as an adult due to the violent nature of the case.

Investigators claim that the suspect lured Maltzman to the warehouse under the guise of a party, attacked him and attempted to cover his body with a large steel plate.

The case is still in juvenile court due to the defendant’s age at the time of the crime, which has become commonplace in California since 2016 when voters passed Proposition 57, which requires a judge to determine if a youth should be tried as an adult.

 

In San Francisco, prosecutors have requested five cases, including this one, be transferred to adult court over the last decade. The other cases were all rejected, the Chronicle reported.

This defendant’s hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, where Judge Anne Costin will decide if the case moves to adult court.

Maltzman was reported missing in January 2023, according to the San Francisco Police Department.

He was last seen at his apartment in the Lower Nob Hill neighborhood on January 6, 2023.

Over two weeks later, his bludgeoned body was found inside an abandoned warehouse at the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard on January 23, 2023, with the graffiti pointing towards his body.

Despite the clue, it took investigators almost two years to identify and arrest a suspect in the case.

On November 29, 2024, police arrested Maltzman’s former classmate from Raoul Wallenberg High School after investigators found cell phone data and surveillance that placed them together.

Footage showed the two entering the warehouse together, then 20 minutes later Maltzman called 911, according to prosecutors.

Police responded to the scene but did not find anything. Over two weeks later, his body was discovered by a person who went into the warehouse to look at street art.

Eventually, several teens came forward to say that the suspect admitted to killing Maltzman, including a person who said he texted him a picture of his bloodied knuckles.

The suspect’s ex-girlfriend told investigators that he killed Maltzman because he had allegedly bragged about sexually assaulting someone, a claim that authorities say is unsubstantiated. 

Maltzman’s parents, Reed Maltzman and Jennifer Gosselin, told the Chronicle that they found it ‘nauseating’ that the defendant ‘spread this cruel and unsubstantiated rumor to justify the horrific murder of our son.’

At one of the court hearings, Gosselin said: ‘His blood on the walls, his body stuffed underground, his murderer’s tag pointing down to his body.

‘The premeditated, meticulously planned and brutally executed murder was just another Friday night for him. He appears to have neatly tucked away this brutal murder into another part of himself.’

The suspect’s defense is arguing the case should stay in juvenile court because he was previously addicted to fentanyl and he was an ‘immature and dysfunctional youth.’

‘While it looks like there was some planning by (the defendant), this isn’t an Ocean’s 11 caper,’ the lawyer said. ‘Planning a fake party and asking someone to go to it is not the definition of high sophistication.’

If the judge decides to keep the case in juvenile court, the defendant will be released before he turns 25.  If he is convicted in adult court, he could face a sentence of 25 years to life in state prison. 

The Daily Mail contacted the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office and the defendant’s attorney for comment.