REDWOOD CITY — A Daly City woman has been sentenced to three years in prison as part of a plea in a case accusing her of helping her 22-year-old son escape after he allegedly shot and killed a man last year.
San Mateo County Presiding Judge Stephanie G. Garratt sentenced Zaib Un Nisa Afridi, 51, on Friday after she pled no contest in August to felony accessory to murder with aggravating circumstances. Her plea came even though her son, Maarij Abdullah Afridi, has yet to face trial in the September 2024 killing of 60-year-old Rolando Yanga.
Prosecutors had alleged that after the shooting, Zaib Afridi did not call police but instead drove her son to her sister’s house in Sacramento to hide.
Garratt’s sentence came after four of Yanga’s family members shared “impassioned” speeches about the impact of the killing on their lives. Garratt called the fatal shooting “senseless” and added that “although not the actual killer, (Zaib Afridi) bears much of the responsibility for what occurred,” prosecutors said. Garratt also ordered that Zaib Afridi pay victim restitution of $17,261.
The prosecution had requested the maximum sentence of three years. San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe said that his office does not normally get the maximum term on accessory cases, but that this case was “so aggravated.”
“This woman really went to efforts to assist her son in both accomplishing his goal and getting away,” Wagstaffe said.
Wagstaffe noted that Zaib Afridi assisted her son first in getting him to the location of the alleged killing, which he called “egregious conduct,” then by driving him to Sacramento to “try and help him hide so he could eventually go somewhere else (and) escape culpability.”
“When people commit crimes, sometimes, if they’re not professional criminals, they need somebody to bolster them, to help them, otherwise they may not commit it,” Wagstaffe said. “I don’t know if her son would have committed this murder if she was not saying, ‘Sure, I’ll drive you over there, and then I’ll help you afterward, I’ll help you escape.’”
Françoise Espinoza, Zaib Afridi’s defense attorney, did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
Prosecutors and police said the confrontation between Maarij Afridi and Yanga began at a local gym on the evening of Sept. 29, 2024.
At the time, Zaib Afridi was under the impression that her son was “just going to confront” Yanga, prosecutors said. But instead, Maarij Afridi allegedly shot Yanga multiple times in the driveway of the victim’s home, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors added that the shooting occurred in “clear view” of Zaib Afridi.
After the shooting, Zaib Afridi drove Maarij Afridi to her sister’s house in Sacramento where he could hide, prosecutors said.
“We can’t prove that she knew that he was going to kill this person, because if we could have proven that … under the law, she’d be guilty of murder as an aider and abetter,” Wagstaffe said.
Zaib Afridi’s sister does not face any charges because there is no evidence that she knew about her nephew’s alleged crime, according to Wagstaffe.
Maarij Afridi’s case is still pending. He has been charged with murder with enhancements for lying in wait, use of a firearm and great bodily injury, according to court records. He has pleaded not guilty.
His next court appearance is Dec. 2, with a trial expected to begin in mid-2026. He remains in custody with no bail status.