SAN FRANCISCO — A judge on Tuesday granted a prosecution motion to consolidate two defendants into a single case, despite defense arguments that one of the accused was also an alleged victim and should be tried separately.
In Department 22 of the San Francisco Hall of Justice on Tuesday morning, Judge Harry M. Dorfman granted Assistant District Attorney Abigail Adams’ motion to consolidate and join defendants, despite defense counsel arguing it would not be suitable for the cases of each of their clients — since one of them was a victim.
The case in question involved two accused young men — ages 21 and 22 — allegedly shooting at each other with a firearm. According to Adams, the incident was recorded on video and posted to Instagram.
The top charge of the first accused is felony assault with a deadly weapon. The second, who was identified later in the case, according to Adams, was charged with a lower felony, possession of a firearm under the age of 30.
Adams said that “they would’ve been charged at the same time,” if not for the second accused being identified later.
Once the second arrest and detention were made, the case was moved to the Conflict Defense Counsel.
Defense attorney Silas Geneson, who represented the accused charged with assault, urged the court to consider the cases of the two young men separately. Geneson explained that it must be noted that the other accused, who was not his client, was an alleged victim of the incident. He argued that because of this, should the court gain sympathy for the victim during trial, it would pose problems in charging the two accused together. Furthermore, Geneson said joining the cases might result in the accuseds testifying against each other, in which case both could be convicted.
Defense attorney Ean Vizzi concurred with Geneson in opposing the motion.
Judge Dorfman considered the concerns of both defense attorneys, saying that, at times, “codefendants can point fingers at each other.” However, Judge Dorfman said that since they would have been arrested at the “same time and place,” consolidating the cases was reasonable. In addressing Geneson and Vizzi, Judge Dorfman said that joining the cases should not be a problem given their extensive experience as defense attorneys.
After much back-and-forth among all three attorneys and Judge Dorfman, the defense counsel ultimately submitted to the motion, despite their continued pleas to keep the cases separate.
Judge Dorfman granted the motion to consolidate, and the two accused will soon face trial together despite their distinct charges.
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