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Man Found Not Guilty In 2009 Killing, Attempted Murder

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San Francisco, CA — A man facing life in prison for a 2009 shooting that left one man dead and another seriously injured was acquitted of all charges, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi announced today.

 

Jurors deliberated for one day before reaching their verdict Thursday afternoon, finding Diante Johnson, 23, not guilty of murder and attempted murder. Both charges carried gun enhancements.

 

The Daly City resident was accused of fatally shooting 23-year-old Marquez Benson and wounding another man Aug. 27, 2009 as the victims sat in a parked car at 9 a.m. in the Bayview District. U.S. Marshals arrested Johnson the following month in Ogden, Utah.

 

But evidence presented at the nearly three-week trial raised questions of the gunman’s identity and cast doubt on prosecutors, who withheld critical evidence until the eve of trial and claimed to have lost a tape that would have assisted in Johnson’s defense, said Johnson’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Eric Quandt.

 

Quandt also presented testimony from two eyewitnesses to the shooting who said the gunman had dreadlocks. Johnson has never had dreadlocks.

 

Quandt said the withholding of evidence likely troubled jurors and factored into their decision. At issue was a taped interview with a neighbor who saw a dreadlocked man in the area shortly before the shooting. The woman also told police that an acquaintance told her he witnessed the dreadlocked man exiting a nearby residence, walking to the parked car and shooting both victims.

 

Though the neighbor spoke to investigators in 2009, prosecutors withheld the exculpatory evidence until the week before opening statements. Additionally, they claimed the tape was lost and only provided Quandt with the investigator’s notes from the interview. The district attorney’s office then found and submitted the tape on the second day of trial. The missing evidence was the single interview in more than 30 tapes that contained information that could have exonerated Johnson, Quandt said.

 

The judge ruled that Quandt could explore the breech in front of the jury. Under questioning, prosecutors claimed they withheld the evidence out of fear for the neighbor’s safety.

 

“It’s an understandable position, but there’s a penal code provision that deals with these precise situations,” Quandt said. “They could have simply given the evidence to the judge and the judge would have ruled on whether it would be turned over to the defense. Instead, police investigators and prosecutors conspired to conceal the existence of the evidence for two years. It exposed the biased nature of the entire investigation and tainted the state’s case when the jury saw that prosecutors failed to follow the rules.”

 

Adachi applauded the jurors’ decision.

“Jurors must be able to trust that the case they hear is not tainted in any way – particularly if they are being asked to send someone to prison for life. In this case, there was also strong evidence that Mr. Johnson had been misidentified as the gunman,” Adachi said.

 

 

 

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Man Acquitted After Violence Puts Brakes On Party Bus Celebration

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San Francisco, CA — A party bus reveler whose trip to North Beach ended in his injury and arrest was acquitted of all charges stemming from the incident, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi announced today.

 

Jurors deliberated for one day before finding Javon Morrow not guilty Wednesday of battery on a police officer and resisting arrest, both misdemeanors, and loitering in front of a nightclub, an infraction. Morrow faced up to two years in jail if convicted, said his attorney, Deputy Public Defender Jack Lamar.

 

Morrow, 30, of San Jose, was arrested shortly after midnight on Nov. 20, 2010 in front of Horizon Restaurant and Lounge on Broadway Street. Moments earlier, an employee alerted a police officer that Morrow was loitering. Though Morrow had only been standing in front of the club, smoking, for five minutes, police gave him a loitering citation. Morrow told the officer he had a right to be there and refused to sign the ticket.

 

The officer claimed Morrow then ran 100 feet, turned around, hit him in the face, grabbed him by the collar and punched him in the ear several times, then grabbed the officer’s utility belt that contained his gun. The officer said he hit Morrow repeatedly in the face with his closed fist to force him to comply.

 

Two eyewitnesses who testified at the week-long trial, however, supported Morrow’s version of the story. Morrow and witnesses said that when he refused to sign the ticket, the officer forced Morrow’s arm behind his back and threw him face-first into the ground. The officer then turned Morrow around and punched him in the face several times, according to witnesses.

 

 

Photos presented at trial showed extensive bruising, cuts and scrapes on Morrow’s face. The officer, who claimed his glasses were broken during the scuffle, was photographed with his glasses intact and no injuries besides a minor scratch to the arm and slight redness on one ear.

 

“The jurors saw that the photo evidence simply didn’t back up the officer’s story,” Lamar said.

 

The police officer’s account was also contradicted by his partner, who testified at the trial.

 

“The jury did the right thing in acquitting Mr. Morrow,” Lamar said. “His arrest and beating wasn’t about justice, it was about retribution. The police officer was angry at Mr. Morrow for being defiant and he took it out him with his fists.”

 

Adachi said the case was an example of how eyewitness accounts may not match what is described in police reports.

 

“Fortunately for Mr. Morrow, two witnesses came forward. Their description of the incident held up under scrutiny in court, while the officer’s version of the story did not,” Adachi said.

 

Morrow is the third public defender client acquitted in the past two months of resisting arrest after police officers used excessive force. On July 22, Chris Christopher was found not guilty of five misdemeanors after police responded to his verbal barb by forcing him out of a car in a choke-hold. On July 19, Benjamin King was found not guilty of felony assault with a deadly weapon on an officer and misdemeanor resisting arrest. More about the Christopher and King cases can be found at http://bit.ly/pNJFc9 and http://bit.ly/riM2UN

 

 

 

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Youth Sports Coach Innocent Of Gun Charges

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SAN FRANCISCO – A beloved youth football coach with no criminal convictions was found not guilty of gun offenses that could have sent him to state prison for three years, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi announced today.

 

San Francisco father and Pop Warner coach Pasha Ali, 34, was acquitted Thursday of a felony charge of carrying a loaded, unregistered gun and a misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed weapon. The jury deliberated less than three hours before reaching its verdict, said Ali’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Danielle Harris.

 

Ali was arrested February 19, 2009 at the corner of San Bruno and Silver avenues. Ali, who uses marijuana on a medicinal basis to relieve pain from a chronic hand injury, had stopped at a popular local convenience store to get a sandwich, when he ran into an acquaintance who offered to sell him marijuana.  While talking to the man, another man pulled open Ali’s rear car door and offered to sell him a gun. Ali told the stranger he was not interested in buying a gun and seconds later, police pulled up, Harris said.

 

Both the man selling the marijuana and the man selling the gun took off, with the second man ditching the unregistered firearm in Ali’s back seat. Seeing the police approach and fearing for his safety, Ali quickly shoved the gun into a container in his center console. A subsequent search of Ali’s car turned up the firearm and he was arrested.

 

During the four-day trial, both Pop Warner football officials and Ali’s mother, a San Francisco Fire Department battalion chief, testified to his history of honest behavior.

 

 

“Ultimately, the jury agreed that this is not what we mean when we talk about someone illegally carrying a gun,” Harris said. “Someone dumped the gun on him and he made a split second decision to avoid the officers seeing a gun within reaching distance and perceiving him as a threat. Mr. Ali, in his shock and panic, thought he was doing the right thing at the time. He shouldn’t be branded a felon because of it.”

 

Adachi said the verdict illustrates that the facts in criminal cases must be carefully examined.

 

“This case goes to show that things aren’t always as they appear.  Fortunately for Mr. Ali, he was able to prove that there was a reasonable explanation for why he had possession of the gun,” he said.

Smartmouthing The Police Not A Crime, Jury Finds

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San Francisco, CA — A young man who responded to a police officer’s harassment with a profane zinger was found not guilty of five misdemeanors today, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi announced.

 

Jurors deliberated over four hours before acquitting San Francisco resident Chris Christopher, 22, of delaying or obstructing an officer with threat of violence, battery on a police officer, and three counts of resisting arrest.

 

Christopher is the second public defender client acquitted this week of resisting arrest after police officers used excessive force. On Wednesday, 35-year-old Benjamin King was found not guilty of felony assault with a deadly weapon on an officer and misdemeanor resisting arrest. More about that case can be found at http://bit.ly/riM2UN

 

Christopher, who had no criminal record, was arrested April 9, 2010 at Newhall Street and La Salle Avenue in San Francisco’s Bayview District, said his attorney, Deputy Public Defender Erin Haney.

 

Christopher had been sitting in a legally parked car with a family friend when his mother spotted the pair and pulled up in her vehicle to chat.  A police officer approached Christopher’s mother, who was parked illegally, and asked for her identification.  Instead of ticketing her, however, the officer moved on to the legally parked car to question Christopher, who had committed no infraction, Haney said.

 

The officer asked Christopher his name, but expressed disbelief when the young man answered honestly with “Chris Christopher.”  When he asked again, an annoyed Christopher shot back, “What if I tell you it’s F— You?”

 

“It wasn’t respectful, but it was well within Mr. Christopher’s First Amendment rights,” Haney said. “There’s nothing in the penal code about having a smart mouth.  In fact, citizens in this nation are encouraged to speak out against government harassment and oppression.  The First Amendment protects that right, even when the speech is offensive.”

 

The officer became angry and a verbal argument ensued, Haney said. Police claimed Christopher reached under the seat and said, “How do you know I don’t have a gun? Cops get shot all the time?”  However, witnesses at the nearly two day trial testified Christopher never threatened the officer.

 

“Mr. Christopher knows that suggesting he has a gun and reaching for it is a death wish.” Haney said.  Additionally, witnesses testified to Mr. Christopher’s reputation for peace-keeping and non-violence in the community.

 

When police pushed Christopher’s mother and family friend out of the way, the young man exited the car and yelled at officers to take their hands off his mother. He then complied with police orders to get back into the vehicle.

 

“Several officers then extracted him from the car by choking him while his mother watched and screamed, ‘That’s my son. Stop it. He can’t breathe,’” Haney said.

 

Jurors voted not guilty after Haney argued that police had no right to detain Christopher, used excessive force and were not in lawful performance.

 

“This is your city,” Haney told jurors during her closing argument. “Mr. Christopher has the same rights you have. He has the same rights your son has. If this constitutes lawful performance, when then can Mr. Christopher ever walk out of his house and not be subject to police action? Mr. Christopher does not live in a police state.  In the Bayview, you have the same rights as you do in Pacific Heights.”

 

Adachi said this week’s two acquittals show that San Francisco juries will act to place limits on the authority of police.

“Mr. Christopher was rightfully exonerated in a case that was overcharged and over-exaggerated.  While using foul language in conversing with a police officer may not be polite, the jury found that it doesn’t justify five misdemeanor charges” Adachi said.

 

 

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Jaywalker Hurt By Police Found Not Guilty Of Attacking Officer

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San Francisco, CA — A jaywalker facing five years in prison after defending himself against police brutality was found not guilty of assault with a deadly weapon against an officer and resisting arrest, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi announced today.

 

Jurors deliberated two hours Wednesday afternoon before acquitting Benjamin King, 35, of San Francisco, of all charges.

 

King, who had no criminal record and worked two jobs as a barber and a delivery company employee, was arrested Aug. 23, 2009 as he commuted home from Oakland at 10 p.m. King had just stepped out of the Powell Street BART station and crossed Market Street outside of the crosswalk when a patrol car made a U-turn and two police officers advanced toward him.

 

“He was confused as to why he was being detained,” said King’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Mel Santos. “Mr. King saw no citation book. One of the officers grabbed him and Mr. King thought it must be a case of mistaken identity.”

 

King pulled away from the officer, Santos said, and when being told he was being detained for jaywalking, he expressed shock. He asked police to take their hands off him and have a conversation with him instead. King, who had enjoyed an after-work drink with a coworker, was told by police he smelled of alcohol and “was going to jail.”

 

One of the police officers then hit King with a baton with such force that the 36-inch weapon broke in half over King’s knee. One of the pieces of the baton landed in King’s hand and he instinctively struck back, hitting the officer in the neck before dropping the weapon, Santos said.

 

The other police officer then put King in a cartoid restraint, choking him into unconsciousness before handcuffing him, Santos said.

 

King was charged and released from jail on the condition he would attend anger management classes. He completed 65 classes despite never before having been accused of an anger problem, Santos said.

 

During King’s trial, both officers testified that they saw King walking outside the crosswalk and decided to “take him on.”

 

“They were using combat language—as if they were patrolling in Iraq instead of watching commuters near Union Square,” Santos said.

 

King is African American, though it wasn’t determined at trial whether race played a factor in his detention. Neither officer gave an explanation on why King was targeted while jaywalking goes mostly unenforced in San Francisco.

 

King also took the stand, along with his father and coworker, who testified to King’s gentle demeanor.  Santos also presented evidence that the two officers violated SFPD protocol governing the use of force. The policy mandates that officers use less severe options such as pepper spray and neck restraint before resorting to batons.

 

Adachi commended the jury’s decision.

 

“This was a clear case of self-defense against excessive force,” Adachi said. “Once police violated their own rules, their actions against Mr. King became unlawful. Mr. King was protecting himself against being more seriously hurt.”

 

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Jurors Acquit In Magic Mushroom, Domestic Violence Cases

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San Francisco, CA — A bicyclist accused of possessing hallucinogenic mushrooms and a man tried a second time for the same domestic violence charge were acquitted in separate cases Thursday, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi announced today.

 

Jurors deliberated less than two hours before finding 41-year-old Eric Meoli not guilty of one misdemeanor count of possession of psilocybin mushrooms. His attorney, Deputy Public Defender Kimberly Lutes-Koths, employed an unusual argument during the one-and-half day trial: Meoli had long forgotten about the mushrooms in his backpack, and therefore could not have knowingly possessed them.

 

“The elements of the law require that Mr. Meoli know about the illegal mushrooms in his possession,” Lutes-Koths said.

 

Meoli, a San Francisco cannabis club worker, was arrested at the Powell Street BART station May 25, 2011. BART police stopped Meoli for riding his bicycle on the platform and asked to search his backpack for identification. While searching a small internal pocket of the backpack, police found less than 4 grams of psilocybin mushrooms.

 

Meoli told police that a year earlier, he had given $10 of legally-obtained medical marijuana to “a hippy in Golden Gate Park” who was suffering from insomnia. The grateful, sleep-deprived hippy gave him the mushrooms in return. Meoli stated he had completely forgotten about the mushrooms.

 

Meoli, who has no prior convictions, testified during the trial, along with two BART police officers.

 

“Jurors took their deliberations very seriously and followed the law to the letter,” Lutes-Koths said.

 

Following the acquittal, a relieved Meoli assured jurors they would receive stellar customer service if they were ever to visit his cannabis club, Lutes-Koths said. Meoli faced up to a year in jail if convicted

 

In a second acquittal Thursday, a jury found 50-year-old Isabel Bracamonte not guilty of misdemeanor battery on a spouse or co-habitant.

 

It was the second trial for Bracamonte. One year earlier, jurors hung on the charge.

 

Bracamonte was arrested May 18, 2010 after being involved in a scuffle at the family’s San Francisco home. At the time, Bracamonte’s wife of more than 25 years told police he punched her in the chest, though she did not have any injuries, said his attorney, Deputy Public Defender Fatima Ortiz. A 911 call placed by the couple’s adult son makes no mention of punching and Bracamonte’s wife changed her story when speaking to inspectors the next day.

 

Bracamonte, who has no previous arrests for domestic violence or other crimes, maintained the physical altercation was between him and his adult son and that he never hit his wife. It was possible Bracamonte’s wife was inadvertently pushed when she tried to intervene between the two men, Ortiz said.

 

Since the arrest, Bracamonte had been required to stay away from his family, though he helped support them financially, Ortiz said. Both Bracamonte’s wife and son wanted to reconcile, she said.

 

Before acquitting Bracamonte, jurors heard testimony from the complaining witness, who said she had been gently pushed, but not punched. They also viewed photographs demonstrating the lack of injuries in the incident.

“This was a family that wanted to be reunited,” Ortiz said. “Being separated after more than two decades due to one unfortunate night was difficult for everyone.”

 

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Carrying Gun A ‘Necessity’ For Man, Jury Finds

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San Francisco, CA — A man who borrowed a gun for protection after he and his family experienced random violence in a San Francisco housing project was acquitted Thursday after a jury determined his actions were necessary.

 

Jurors deliberated five hours before finding Johnny Stone, 23, not guilty of one misdemeanor count of carrying a concealed weapon, if you like guns then check out best Goog Gun. The jury hung on a second misdemeanor charge, carrying a loaded weapon. A third charge, possession of nunchaku, was dismissed by the judge after finding there wasn’t sufficient evidence for that charge to go to jury.

 

Stone, of Reno, was arrested Sept. 9, 2009 while visiting family members in the Sunnydale public housing projects. Stone, who had never been arrested, had reason to be fearful in the high-crime area, said his attorney, Deputy Public Defender Ariel Boyce-Smith. Stone had been robbed on a previous visit and his cousin had been shot in the ankle on the same block. After Stone arrived from Reno that day, he was startled by the sound of nearby gunshots.

 

Shortly after 9:30 p.m., Stone’s family asked him to retrieve baby food and diapers from his parked car for his crying niece. A relative offered to let the fearful visitor borrow her gun for the short trip, Boyce-Smith said.

 

When Stone went outside, he was approached by police officers who were searching for juvenile robbery suspects. Police asked if they could conduct a weapons search and Stone cooperated, immediately telling police he was carrying the gun. After securing the gun from Stone’s sweatshirt pocket, he was arrested.  A subsequent search of a nearby car police believed was Stone’s revealed nunchaku.

During the two-day trial, Stone testified about previous incidents at Sunnydale, including the gunshots he heard shortly before his arrest. Police confirmed that Sunnydale is a high crime area.

 

“The defense was one of necessity,” Boyce-Smith said. “It was clear Mr. Stone took the gun solely for protection. He was acting in an emergency and it was necessary for him to have the gun to protect himself from great bodily harm.”

 

Boyce-Smith said jurors took into account the frequent crime at Sunnydale and the low probability that had Stone called police, he would have been promptly provided with an armed escort to retrieve the baby food.

 

San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi said jurors relied on common sense.

 

“Mr. Stone’s fears about being robbed or hurt were justified by his prior experiences in the neighborhood,” Adachi said. “When his baby niece needed to be fed shortly after gunfire rang out, he considered it an emergency and took the precautions he felt were necessary.”

Public Defenders Win Three Acquittals In 24 Hours

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San Francisco, CA — In three back-to-back trials, public defenders proved the innocence of three individuals accused in separate cases of hit and run, violating a protective order and theft, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi announced today.

 

On Wednesday afternoon, a jury deliberated only 20 minutes before finding San Francisco resident Joshua Tranquilla, 29, not guilty of leaving the scene after hitting a city parking enforcement vehicle.

 

Tranquilla’s charge stemmed from a Jan. 4, 2011 incident in the Laurel Heights neighborhood. Tranquilla, who had pulled into a loading zone on Spruce Street to use his cell phone, was approached by the 28-year-old officer and told to vacate the spot. Tranquilla complied. As he made a legal u-turn on Spruce and Mayfair and headed northbound on Spruce, the officer made a sudden U-turn 6-10 feet in front of Tranquilla’s car.

Tranquilla slammed on his brakes and honked, but collided with the back of the officer’s 3-wheeled Interceptor at 5-10 miles per hour. Both men exited their vehicles, briefly argued and inspected for damage. Satisfied there was none, Tranquilla left. The officer later filled out a report with police and claimed back and neck pain. When contacted by the hit and run division the following day, Tranquilla returned for an interview.

 

During Tranquilla’s two-day trial, Deputy Public Defender Jacque Wilson presented a previous case involving the same officer falsely claiming he was injured on the job, and then applying for worker’s compensation. In 2008, a woman who had previously complained about harassment by the officer was tried for felony hit and run after the officer told police she ran over his foot. During her trial, surveillance footage revealed that the woman could not have run over the officer’s foot and the man’s doctor testified that the foot fractures were old and could not have been caused by the incident. That jury acquitted the motorist.

 

Before handing Tranquilla’s case to the jury, the judge dismissed a second charge against him – hit and run with injury. The jury then acquitted him of hit and run causing property damage. The prosecution could not prove that the minor dent in the Interceptor’s bumper was caused by the accident, Wilson said.

 

Wilson noted that the city’s Department of Parking and Traffic could not provide disciplinary records for the driver, claiming a computer glitch erased all complaints from 2008 and 2009. Department officials also could not provide complete maintenance records for the vehicle.

 

The victory came less than 24 hours after two additional not-guilty verdicts in misdemeanor cases.

 

In the first of Tuesday’s acquittals, a hospital security guard was found not guilty of stealing cash from a safe after jurors determined the burglary was committed by another employee who had taken the guard’s badge.

 

Security guard and longtime food bank volunteer Marley Bah, 37, of Stockton, was arrested April 23, 2010 when he started his shift at California Pacific Medical Center in Pacific Heights.

 

“Mr. Bah was stunned by the arrest,” said his attorney, Deputy Public Defender Neva Tassan. “He had no criminal record and had been at his job two years. Unfortunately for him, someone had used his security badge to access the cashier’s office and steal $2,060.”

 

Video footage showed a masked man wearing gloves entering the cashier’s office the previous night. Security initially believed the thief to be another security officer, based on the man’s build, Tassan said. However, after access logs of the security system showed Bah’s badge was used, the investigation focused on Bah, who repeatedly told police he did not steal the money.

 

During his trial, Bah told the jury he returned to the security office during a break to find his badge, which had disappeared the previous night, pinned to the lost and found board.

 

Tassan argued that video footage of the exterior of the building was destroyed, the lockers in the security office were never searched, and no other security officers were interviewed as suspects.  Also, evidence showed that 63 male security officers knew how to access the cashier’s office, the combination to the safe, and when other officers were working based on the CPMC bi-weekly security roster.

 

Finally, a jury on Wednesday found 47-year-old Fredricka Stamps of San Francisco not guilty of violating a restraining order.

 

“Jurors realized that the charges were due to the incompetence of law enforcement and Ms. Stamps did nothing wrong,” said her attorney, Deputy Public Defender Jennifer Ruggiero.

 

Stamps’ ordeal began April 23, 2011, when a relative with substance abuse problems lied to police, telling them that Stamps threatened to burn down her own home with her mother inside. Though Stamps was not even home at the time of the alleged incident, she was arrested for elder abuse and a temporary restraining order was issued. Charges were dropped three days later, when the district attorney determined there was no merit to the accusations.

 

“Ms. Stamps went home, believing the nightmare was over,” Ruggiero said. “However, police had never lifted the restraining order and she was arrested again while sleeping in her own home.”

 

Adachi praised jury members in all three cases for carefully weighing all the evidence.

 

“An innocent person being charged with a crime isn’t something that happens in the movies — it happens in real life, and here it happened to three people.  Fortunately, the jurors reached the right result and corrected three terrible injustices,” Adachi said.

 

 

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Man Falsely Accused Of Sexual Battery Attempts To End Nightmarish Ordeal

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San Francisco, CA — With the help of the San Francisco Public Defender, a man falsely accused of sexual battery asked a judge today to destroy any record of the criminal charges.

 

Isuiza Tovar, 42, was acquitted May 27 of sexual battery, following a weeklong trial. The jury deliberated less than an hour before reaching its verdict, said Tovar’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Jennifer Ruggiero. Today, Ruggiero petitioned San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Ulmer for a finding of factual innocence in the case. The finding will erase any mention of the arrest from Tovar’s record, ensuring he will not suffer negative consequences in future job searches or educational opportunities. The judge has taken the motion under advisement.

 

“It is somewhat unusual for a judge to issue a finding of factual innocence in a case that went all the way to trial, but if anyone deserves to be completely exonerated it is Mr. Tovar,” Ruggiero said. “This was an innocent and hardworking husband and father with no criminal record. What he was put through was unconscionable.”

 

Tovar’s legal trouble began on Dec. 27, 2010. A 19-year-old woman, after a drunken fight with her boyfriend, fled to Precita Park at 3 a.m. A short time later, after her boyfriend and brother found her walking on a nearby street, she told them that a stranger approached her from behind and fondled her as she swung on a swing-set.

 

Instead of calling the police, the intoxicated trio—one of them armed with a bottle – decided to search for the woman’s attacker in the neighborhood.  They interrogated and released one man before approaching Tovar, who was walking his daily route through the Mission District on his way to his longtime warehouse job.

 

After the woman, whose criminal past was discussed in court, identified Tovar as her assailant, the two men began yelling accusations at a confused Tovar, who had fallen backward while protesting that he was innocent. As one of the men stood over Tovar, aiming the bottle at his head, police pulled up and cited Tovar for sexual battery. Officers had been summoned by a neighbor, who reported a couple having a loud domestic disturbance on the street.

 

“Because there was no Spanish speaking officer there, police never questioned Mr. Tovar, they simply arrested him. No investigator bothered to interview him since that day. Until he came to court, he had no idea what crime he was being charged with committing,” Ruggiero said.

 

During Tovar’s trial, his family, friends, boss and coworkers rallied to support the former banker, a legal resident who came to the U.S. a decade ago due to unrest in his home country of Peru.

 

His visiting nephew, who was awake and playing video games when Tovar headed to work, testified to when his uncle left the house—testimony that ruled out Tovar being near Precita Park at the time the crime was committed. The 911 caller also took the stand, as well as numerous character witnesses who testified in Tovar’s defense. Tovar also took the stand and relayed his account of the morning in question.

 

San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi expressed dismay that Tovar’s case went to trial, but said he was hopeful a finding of factual innocence would be granted.

 

“After a lifetime of being a law abiding person, a random and momentary encounter plunged Mr. Tovar into a legal nightmare,” Adachi said. “It is shocking that authorities never once explored Mr. Tovar’s side of the story, instead opting for a costly, needless trial.”

 

If he had been convicted of the four counts of sexual battery, Tovar faced a year in jail and lifetime registration as a sex offender.

 

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New Misconduct Evidence Surfaces As 26 Cases Dropped

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San Francisco, CA — As prosecutors dismissed 26 felony cases Friday, San Francisco Public Defender Jeff Adachi revealed new misconduct evidence that has surfaced against embattled San Francisco undercover officers.

 

All 26 cases dropped Friday afternoon involve at least one of the half-dozen Mission Station officers currently under investigation for illegal searches, perjury and theft.

 

At a news conference, Adachi showed surveillance footage of an April 22, 2010 arrest that stood in sharp contrast to the sworn police report describing the incident.

 

In that case, police arrested 49-year-old Jesus Inastrilla in front of a Tenderloin bar for drug sales. In a sworn police report, Officer Peter Richardson wrote that officers Jacob Fegan, Ricardo Guerrero, Robert Sanchez, who were working undercover, arrested Inastrilla after Inastrilla spit a crack rock into his hand to sell it to Guerrero. However, the video shows no exchange between the two men. One of Inastrilla’s hands remains on his cell phone throughout the video, while his other hand is in his pocket.

 

Charges were dropped against Inastrilla May 7, 2010 after Guerrero claimed he could not find the alleged seized drugs in evidence, according to Inastrilla’s attorney, Erica Franklin. Franklin later lodged a complaint with the Office of Citizen Complaints on behalf of her client. The OCC also found that the video was inconsistent with the police report.

 

In a second case of possible misconduct revealed Friday, Mission District residents Javier and Mariette Tenorio produced a sworn declaration against Sgt. Kevin Healy, Sanchez, Guerrero, Fegan and Richardson, alleging police illegally searched their residence and left with their valuables.

 

Javier Tenorio said that on Aug. 19, 2010, Healy approached him in his local market and asked him if he had assaulted and robbed a person. Tonorio denied the accusation and was then asked if he had drugs on his person. Healy then searched Tonorio despite his protests, telling him he would be arrested if he didn’t comply with the search, Tonorio said. No drugs were found on Tenorio, who does not have a criminal history.

 

Healy then showed him a photograph of a man who Tenorio identified as his stepson, Harvey Salazar. Healy demanded Tenorio take him to his home for a search, assuring him he did not need a warrant, Tenorio said.  Healy used Tenorio’s keys to open the door to the residence and pushed Mariette Tenorio against the wall when she protested, according to the sworn declaration.  Healy then kicked open the door to a room where Salazar stored some of his things and began searching alongside Sanchez, Guerrero, Fegan and Richardson.

 

When police left, Mariette Tenorio noticed many items missing, including a camera, two brand new iPods, a cell phone, an electric shaver, a jar of quarters and a collection of baseball hats. None was booked into evidence or accounted for in the police report. The Tenorios have since filed a complaint with the Office of Citizen Complaints, which is pending.

 

Police conducted the search on the day Salazar’s probation out of San Mateo County expired. The San Francisco District Attorney did not file an arrest warrant stemming from the Aug. 19, 2010 search until Jan. 14, 2011 Salazar was not arrested until March 16, 2011 His case was among those dismissed Friday.

 

The incidents are the latest in a string of videos and reports revealing serious misconduct among undercover officers in the Southern and Mission stations. The incidents have sparked an FBI investigation. Adachi said he expects more cases to be dismissed.

 

“These officers made numerous arrests each day. Because it has become clear we cannot trust them to be honest, any arrest based on their credibility is suspect,” Adachi said.

The video of the April 22, 2010 incident is posted at  youtube.com/sfpublicdefender

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