San Francisco, CA – A jury deliberated for less than 15 minutes before acquitting Marcos Ortega, of two counts of misdemeanor battery.
According to the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, Ortega had been falsely accused of pushing two women. The women had each, separately, cut in line in front of him and his daughters at an event for children with disabilities.
“The jury did the right thing in acquitting Mr. Ortega, who did nothing wrong, and only verbally called out the women for cutting in line,” said Deputy Public Defender Jess McPeake, who represented Ortega in this case.
McPeake explained, “Mr. Ortega and his family were trying to have a nice day in the park, and these two women, who didn’t like being called out for cutting in line, turned it into an ordeal that resulted in police grabbing Mr. Ortega in front of his children and setting him up to face these unfounded charges.”
On June 1, Ortega and two of his young daughters were waiting in line for prizes at a community event in Golden Gate Park when two women each cut in front of them separately. Ortega verbally protested each time.
However, the women, who were friends, claimed that Ortega pushed them, and an event staffer called the police.
Police located Ortega and his family at the face-painting booth and physically grabbed him in front of his children.
Ortega denied pushing the women, however, the police issued him a citation to appear in court, and prosecutors charged him with battery.
During the trial, the jury heard testimony from Ortega and the two women. One of the women said that she and her friend were holding and switching places toward the front of several lines for their group of friends, which explained why Ortega believed that they were cutting.
She also admitted that she and her friend tried to make sure their stories matched before they talked to police, even though their testimony at trial was inconsistent with the initial accusations.
Ortega’s testimony remained consistent that the women cutting in line repeatedly jostled him and his daughters and that it saddened him that they would do that at an event for children with disabilities.
“A case like this highlights the importance of having public defenders who fiercely defend their clients by taking cases to trial when someone is unfairly accused of a crime, especially when prosecutors are making offers for them to plead to something they didn’t do,” said San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju. “I am proud of Deputy Public Defender McPeake and the whole defense team for supporting Mr. Ortega throughout this case, and I’m grateful to the jury for returning this just verdict.”
