SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Opening statements began Thursday morning in San Francisco County Superior Court before Judge Brendan Conroy in the case of a man facing misdemeanor charges of exhibiting a deadly weapon and possession of unlawful drug paraphernalia at the Powell Street BART station. The defense argued that witnesses jumped to conclusions about the alleged crime.
Deputy District Attorney Blake Hyde told the jury in his opening statement that the accused tapped on the BART information booth window with a knife and demanded the attendants allow him passage through the fare gates. When denied entry, he followed another BART patron through the gate to avoid paying. Hyde said the two BART attendants who interacted with the accused felt threatened and called the police.
Deputy Public Defender Nicholas Dias challenged Hyde’s description, saying the accused “did not exhibit the weapon in a rude, threatening manner.” He added that the witnesses “assumed the worst.”
Dias began his opening by recounting events leading up to the alleged crime. He said the accused had bought food at a nearby restaurant and entered the BART station to eat. On his way, he found a knife and was using it as a utensil. Dias said the accused was singing while eating, which drew the attention of a man past the fare gates who offered to “trade [the accused] shirts in a suitcase.”
Dias argued the accused tapped on the booth window to get the attention of the attendants and ask if he could cross the gate to speak with the man. “At this point, [the accused] was not being threatening,” Dias said, adding that surveillance footage would show other patrons walking by the accused without reacting.
According to Dias, the accused later followed a paying patron through the gate and received clothing from the man. By then, police had arrived and arrested him.
“This case is about assumptions,” Dias told the jury. “The witnesses will testify that they saw a man they did not recognize, got scared and thought the worst.”
The prosecution’s first witness was one of the BART attendants involved. Hyde asked if she was used to emergencies, and she said “multiple times a day.” She testified she had “never seen a situation like that directed at me.” She claimed her coworker asked the accused if he was threatening them when he tapped on the booth window with his knife, to which he replied, “Take it however you want.”
On cross-examination, Dias asked if anyone else in the station told her they felt threatened by the accused. She said no. She also confirmed she never saw a pipe or saw the accused smoke anything.
The People’s second witness, another BART attendant, testified that she discreetly called the police on speakerphone so the accused would not see her. She said the incident left her “shaken up and feeling triggered.” She added she did not want to testify because she “did not want to see someone get reprimanded for something that could have been prevented.”
Dias pressed the witness on prior statements, including one where she admitted that before she saw the knife she thought the accused was joking. He asked if she remembered jokingly saying that if the accused kept singing, she might let him in, which she affirmed. Like the first witness, she testified that no one had complained to her about the accused holding a knife, and she did not see him handling a pipe or smoking.
Off the record, the accused told Judge Conroy about the hardships he has faced attending court and being in custody for a month. He said he had sustained injuries to his wrists and legs from extended handcuff use. He also lamented missing important family events, including his son’s birthday.
Closing statements are scheduled for Monday morning.
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