Police Probe Clues Linking Victims of S.F. Shoot-Out

A gunman who killed a prominent attorney and then was slain by police in an office shoot-out was closing his gospel ministry in the building after saying he was ill, a building spokeswoman said Wednesday.

“He had given his notice a couple of weeks ago that he was going to be vacating the premises,” said Denise Spisak, assistant manager of the James Flood Building, where the shooting occurred at about lunchtime Tuesday.

“He said he was not well--that’s why he was going,” Spisak said.

Norman Wadsworth’s telephone service also had been cut off for his Living Gospel Outreach office on the third floor of the historic building.

Police say Wadsworth shot Garfield Steward outside the attorney’s sixth-floor office, then was killed in a gunfire exchange with police after he went back down to the third floor. Two officers received minor gunshot wounds.

Police theorize that the 64-year-old Wadsworth, who lived in San Leandro, was a disgruntled casual friend of Steward, 75, of San Francisco.

“Apparently the relationship had soured when some legal settlement went awry,” Police Inspector Earl Sanders said.

Jasmine Wadsworth, daughter of the gunman, didn’t comment on her father’s health. But she said he had been angry because he had paid Steward $13,000 to handle a 1983 divorce but then had to go to another lawyer to complete the case. Wadsworth had been unable to get back his money, she said.

Steward’s son, Daniel, said Wednesday that he wasn’t aware of any dispute over money between the two.