By Naglis Dzikaras, Annabelle Grant, Shayne Harris, Natalie Liang, Aliyah Mirari and Stefron Ragler
SAN FRANCISCO — A San Francisco Superior Court judge continued a bail hearing Wednesday after determining he needed additional time to review the case, leaving the accused in custody despite both the prosecution and defense agreeing that the charges were not violent offenses and that the case warranted reconsideration under Kowalczyk.
By Naglis Dzikaras, Annabelle Grant, Shayne Harris, Natalie Liang, Aliyah Mirari and Stefron Ragler
SAN FRANCISCO — On July 1, 2026, in Department 16 of the San Francisco Hall of Justice, Judge Kenneth Wine continued a bail motion, requiring the accused to remain in custody because he had just received the case and needed to review both recommended bail conditions before ruling. Despite a previous insinuation by another prosecutor that the accused’s charges were violent, both Deputy Public Defender Latisha McCray and Deputy District Attorney Dennis Guzman agreed that the charges did not qualify as crimes of violence, leading to a rehearing.
Previously, two attempts to obtain a bail motion referral to ACM and ICR ACM were denied because of the prosecution’s argument that the narcotics possession charges constituted violence. When the charges were later reclassified as nonviolent felonies, the case was, as DDA Guzman said, “squarely out of Article 1, Section 12,” meaning the accused was entitled to be released on bail by sufficient sureties.
DPD McCray requested that the accused be released on his own recognizance. However, recognizing that the prosecution might not agree to that request, McCray offered an alternative: if the prosecution was unwilling to release the accused to his home, the defense preferred that he be released to a residential treatment program or ACM.
DDA Guzman said the accused possessed a large quantity of fentanyl. However, he agreed that the offense was not a crime of violence.
DDA Guzman said he “did not oppose” a request for a rehearing under Kowalczyk and asked that, if the accused were released pursuant to Kowalczyk, the court impose either home detention with electronic monitoring or home detention in addition to placement in a treatment facility. Guzman also said electronic monitoring or home detention would help ensure the accused did not return to locations where narcotics were sold.
Both DPD McCray and DDA Guzman agreed to seek nonfinancial alternatives to bail for the accused under Kowalczyk.
Judge Wine said he had “just got this case ten minutes ago,” and needed time to review the matter.
Additionally, ACM requested a one-week continuance to facilitate placement in a residential treatment program. Judge Wine said the matter would be reviewed in one week.
The accused will remain in custody until the case is revisited on July 8, 2026, despite both attorneys agreeing that the accused should be released under modified conditions.
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