FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 8, 2024
MEDIA CONTACT: Jessie Seyfer, public relations officer | (628) 271-9800 | San Francisco Public Defender’s Office | pdr-mediarelations@sfgov.org
**PRESS RELEASE**
SF Jury Acquits Man Wrongly Accused of Purposely Running Over Friend’s Foot
SAN FRANCISCO — On July 31, a San Francisco jury acquitted Anthony Sonnier, 55, of felony assault charges stemming from a Feb. 24 incident in which Sonnier accidentally drove over another man’s foot with his car. Before last week’s acquittal, Sonnier was forced to wear an electronic monitor and to stay on home confinement for three months, which severely limited his ability to earn a living.
“It was clear from the beginning that this was an unfortunate accident,” said Deputy Public Defender Will Helvestine, who represented Sonnier. “Mr. Sonnier was trying to get away from his severely intoxicated friend, who had just punched him. There was no need to have a costly trial in this case, nor was there a need to confine Mr. Sonnier at home for months and months. He will never get that time back.”
Sonnier and the alleged victim grew up together in San Francisco and had been friends for more than 40 years. On Feb. 24, they met to catch up and watch the Lunar New Year parade. Sonnier’s friend quickly became inebriated and belligerent, and Sonnier decided to drop him off at the 16th Street Mission BART station. Once there, the alleged victim punched Sonnier, who tried to maneuver his car to get away. In the process, Sonnier accidentally ran over the man’s foot, which prosecutors contended was on purpose. But during trial, the alleged victim took the stand and testified that Sonnier was “a good dude” who he did not believe intentionally tried to run him over.
“In a case like this, a thoughtful evaluation should have led the prosecutor to not file charges in the first place,” said elected San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju. “This trial was not about what happened, but rather why it happened. I applaud our public defender team for showing how the why should result in an acquittal, and I applaud the jury for thoughtfully delivering their verdict of not guilty.”
The defense team on this case included Helvestine as well as Paralegal Nathan Conn and investigators Nigel Phillips and Bret Stemme.
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