SAN FRANCISCO — Judge Lianne M. Dumas reduced one felony charge to a misdemeanor and dismissed another during a July 13 preliminary hearing after Deputy District Attorney Gwendolyn West moved to impeach her own witness over conflicting testimony regarding a pair of brass knuckles allegedly recovered at the scene.
The accused faces three charges stemming from an incident at 100 Market St., near the Tenderloin, in which he allegedly threw a rock at a storefront window. The charges include vandalism, possession of brass knuckles and providing false identification to a police officer.
The first witness called by DDA West, San Francisco Police Sgt. Roger Moore, who responded to the scene, testified that the accused “seemed to be upset at the time” and threw a rock at the window near the store’s doorway. Sgt. Moore stated the windows had no pre-existing damage and that there had been been no prior vandalism or attacks directed at the store.
Describing the accused’s demeanor, Sgt. Moore testified that he showed no signs of medical distress and that his behavior was “normal for the people in the Tenderloin,” adding that “the way he was acting did not stand out in the general scope.”
Sgt. Moore stated the accused never requested additional resources, such as mental health services or shelter, although under cross-examination he acknowledged that he did not ask whether the accused needed help.
Sgt. Moore testified that the accused identified himself using a specific name that did not come back as legitimate when officers ran it through the computer system. Instead, it was an alias associated with the accused that had been identified through prior police contact.
The hearing’s central dispute arose over Sgt. Moore’s description of the weapon. In his police report, Moore wrote that the accused possessed “non-metal knuckles.” A separate portion of the same report, however, described the seized property as black-and-red brass knuckles.
When DDA West pressed him on the discrepancy, the witness repeatedly answered that he did not recall, stuttering through portions of his testimony and, at one point, describing the knuckles only as “a metal.”
DDA West then requested permission to impeach her own witness, characterizing Sgt. Moore’s account as a “misrecollection.”
Asked to clarify, Moore explained that, from his perspective at the time, he believed the knuckles were non-metal, but that when he got closer and could actually observe them, he found they were “red and black knuckles.” He said he had only “briefly looked at them.”
Sgt. Moore explained that the report system did not allow him to type out a description of the item and instead required him to select the closest fit from a drop-down menu, which he said led to the discrepancy. Under cross-examination by Deputy Public Defender Thomas McMahon, Sgt. Moore stated he could not recall seeing a photograph of the knuckles or whether one existed.
DDA West’s second witness, Sgt. Nicholas Pena, testified that officers found red knuckles made from some kind of metal in the right side of the accused’s jacket. On cross-examination, Sgt. Pena testified that no photographs were taken and that he did not personally see the knuckles firsthand.
DPD McMahon filed a motion under Penal Code Section 17(b) to reduce all three charges to misdemeanors. On the vandalism charge, DPD McMahon argued there was no aggravating factor that would elevate the charge and no history of attacks on the store.
On the brass knuckles charge, DPD McMahon pointed to the discrepancy in the officers’ descriptions, arguing that if the knuckles were not metal, they were not brass knuckles.
On the false identification charge, DPD McMahon argued that no holding order was warranted because the name the accused gave officers was an alias he has consistently used, indicating he was not attempting to conceal his identity, and that he has no prior convictions or reported crimes under that name.
DDA West opposed the reductions, arguing that the dollar amount of the damage to the storefront constituted substantial evidence supporting the felony charges.
Judge Dumas granted the defense’s motion in part, reducing count 2 to a misdemeanor and dismissing count 3 entirely. Count 1 remains a felony.
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