San Francisco District Lawyer Brooke Jenkins has warned a latest court docket ruling will permit scores of profession criminals to stroll free — with “devastating” penalties for public security throughout California.
A choice from the California Supreme Courtroom on April 30 discovered bail for accused criminals should be “attainable” and solely these accused of violent crimes might held in jail pending trial — a ruling with far-reaching penalties for prosecutors, Jenkins advised The Put up in an interview.
Jenkins, who was first appointed in 2022 and has taken a troublesome stance with drug sellers and petty thieves plaguing San Francisco lately, stated the ruling will make it exceedingly tough to maintain accused criminals locked up — even when they’ve been arrested repeatedly or flouted court docket orders.
Solely folks accused of violent crimes — like homicide and assault involving bodily hurt — might be held on an “unattainable” bail or with out bail, Jenkins defined.
Which means accused repeat drug sellers, auto burglars, retail thieves, and even felons wielding weapons will likely be freely launched below the brand new authorized precedent, based on Jenkins.
“Not solely is that this a devastating ruling for the DA’s workplace, however a devastating ruling for our state and for San Francisco,” Jenkins stated.
The California Supreme Courtroom case centered on Gerald John Kowalczyk, a Bay Space homeless man who purchased a $7 cheeseburger utilizing one other particular person’s bank card.
A Superior Courtroom decide set his bail at $75,000 and it was later revoked fully after he was decided to be at excessive threat of reoffending.
Kowalczyk, who had 60 prior convictions and did not adjust to quite a few court docket orders, spent six months in jail.
His attorneys argued the the detainment was unconstitutional as a result of Kowalczyk hadn’t been convicted of a criminal offense. He was additionally jobless and homeless so had no likelihood of creating bail.
Courts can’t punish disproportionately punish defendants for being to poor too pay bail, civil rights advocates claimed within the profitable court docket petition.
However Jenkins argued that the “ivory tower” logic clashes with actuality.
San Francisco has struggled with rampant auto theft, open-air fentanyl gross sales and arranged retail crime that’s among the many worst within the nation lately.
Photos of shattered home windows, locked-up Walgreens shops and large drug markets made embarrassing headlines for town.
Lots of these crimes had been pushed by serial felons like Robert Sonza, a persistent offender who was arrested greater than a dozen instances between 2019 and 2025 for breaking into vehicles, shoplifting and weapons possession and different crimes.
One other prolific thief, Aziza Graves, was accused of stealing from a San Francisco Goal retailer on 120 separate events, taking greater than $60,000 in merch earlier than she was convicted and launched on supervision in 2024, per ABC7.
On Thursday, San Francisco police arrested and charged 5 people for stealing greater than $43,000 in items from Walgreens and Safeway. One suspect, Tyrese Boswell, lifted cosmetics and batteries from Walgreens 27 separate instances in lower than 6 months.
Drug dealing stays a significant issue, with police seizing 338.5 grams of narcotics and arresting 62 people, together with 52 with excellent warrants, in a drug bust simply this week.
Some of these offenders will stroll free as a result of they aren’t deemed a violent risk, Jenkins stated.
“We now have been in a position to detain prolific organized retail thieves, and now they may all be launched,” Jenkins stated.
Instantly after the April 30 Supreme Courtroom ruling, San Francisco protection attorneys cited the choice in requesting the discharge of greater than 90 offenders being held for drug dealing, theft and different crimes, based on the District Lawyer’s Workplace.
One in every of them was a girl arrested repeatedly after a 2023 “crime spree” and allegations included theft utilizing scissors, a number of thefts and even a hammer assault.
She was launched after the April 30 ruling with an digital monitor, Jenkins stated.
San Francisco police information exhibits that between 2024 and 2025, burglaries fell 26%; robberies had been down 23%; larceny theft 22%; and motorized vehicle theft down 44%.
Whereas using expertise comparable to cameras and drones have contributed to falling crime charges, Jenkins argues the specter of swift detention — much more so than a conviction — is a important deterrent to crime.
That can now not apply after the Supreme Courtroom ruling, she stated.
“We now have demonstrated that swift detention and penalties has labored and now we’re going to reverse all of this,” she stated.
“Devastating is the phrase I’ve to make use of.”
Jenkins stated the judges appeared to ”reside in ivory towers, ruling down on frequent folks” moderately than understanding what was occurring within the wider group.
“Till we get a deal with on what’s going on with our court docket system with these judges,” she continued.
“We’re going to proceed to be the brunt of each joke and assault on Fox Information, and rightfully so.”
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