Criminal Trials

Harry Dorfman, Lead Homicide Prosecutor in S.F., Named Superior Court Judge

Harry Dorfman, a prosecutor who has worked at the San Francisco District Attorney's Office for 28 years, is set to be a judge. Governor Jerry Brown appointed him on Tuesday to one of the open seats on the San Francisco Superior Court. Dorfman, who successfully prosecuted the Edwin Ramos case, has ... More >>

Ghost Scam Defendants Found Guilty of Grand Theft as Jurors Reject Human Trafficking Claim

The jury in the ghost scam trial reached its final verdict today: the four defendants are guilty on all counts of grand theft. In the hallway, after the hearing, multiple jurors explained that they were not persuaded by the defense team's argument that the defendants were human trafficking victims ... More >>

Ghost Scam Trial: Closing Arguments Pit Charges of Greed Against Human Trafficking Defense

The verdict of the ghost scam trial will come down to the why -- the what is undisputed. On November 10, 2012, the four defendants scammed a woman out of $50,000 by tricking her into thinking that a spirit would kill her son, and that the only way to save him would be to perform a ceremony that in ... More >>

Niels Conrad Was Trying to Kill Himself, Not His Mother When He Set House on Fire

A San Francisco jury acquitted a 55-year-old man of seven counts of attempted murder concluding that he wasn't trying to kill his elderly mother as well as police officers when he set fire to his family home. Instead, evidence convinced the jury that the fire was nothing more than a botched suicid ... More >>

"Dark Prince" Accomplices Found Guilty in Rincon Hill Scam

The two men who conspired with the notorious "Dark Prince" were found guilty Wednesday for their part in a $2.2 million condo scam in San Francisco's Rincon Hill neighborhood.District Attorney George Gascón announced today that after a six-month trial, Winston Lum and Jay Shah, both 48, were f ... More >>

Woman Says She was Forced into Prostitution, Then Blows it by Soliciting Johns During Trial

An alleged pimp walked free this week after his accuser was busted soliciting Johns on the Internet during the trial, according to the Public Defender's Office.The 35-year-old woman was given more than $2,000 in incentives from the District Attorney's Office in exchange for her testimony against 23- ... More >>

Supervisor Candidate Pleads Guilty to Threatening District Attorney on Facebook

It's fair to assume that pleading guilty to a crime pretty much makes you unelectable in San Francisco. Just ask Ross Mirkarimi.But Benjamin Castaneda, the 24-year-old wannabe District 9 supervisor, seems to think threatening the District Attorney is somehow going to win him votes in the upcoming Bo ... More >>

Murder Charge for Wilfredo Reyes Would Contradict Key Testimony Against Edwin Ramos

Wilfredo Reyes likely faces murder charges for the 2008 triple homicide of Tony Bologna and two of his sons. "[Reyes] is a co-conspirator, aider and abetter and equally guilty for the senseless crimes committed against the Bologna family," Assistant District Attorney Alex Bastian told SF Weekly so ... More >>

Kamala Harris Busts "Skimmer Operation" That Stole From Hundreds of Chase Bank Customers

Attorney General Kamala Harris used her newly created eCrime Unit to break up two high-tech bank scam operations that ripped off hundreds of Chase customers over the last three years. In both "skimmer operations," the defendants, organized as "crews," replaced the card readers at Chase Bank ATM ves ... More >>

Ross Mirkarimi Plea Crisis Is 'Political Posturing,' Expert Says

​San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón roiled the calming waters in the domestic-violence case against Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi yesterday, telling the editorial board of the San Francisco Chronicle he has doubts about proceeding with a plea bargain struck earlier this week because Mirkarimi ... More >>

Why Our DA Probably Won't Press Charges Against Driver Who Plowed Over Pedestrian

In the never-ending urban war between pedestrians and drivers, city walkers will be upset to hear about their latest defeat: The District Attorney's Office is not poised to press criminal charges against the shuttle driver who carelessly plowed over a man with a cane sauntering through a Tenderloin ... More >>

Ross Mirkarimi Refuses to Step Aside Amid Domestic Violence Charges

​After a brief and "cordial" meeting with Mayor Ed Lee today, Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi told reporters that he absolutely refuses to step aside amid allegations that he physically abused his wife during a New Year's Eve dispute. The mayor -- who has the authority to suspend the sheriff -- met with Mi ... More >>

Giselle Esteban, "Jealous" Woman Accused of Killing Michelle Le, Pleads Not Guilty

​Giselle Esteban, the 27-year-old woman accused of killing her former classmate, Michelle Le, appeared in court today where she pleaded not guilty to murder charges. The Union City woman, who recently gave birth to her second child while in jail, was reportedly ordered to appear in court on Feb. 1 ... More >>

Husband and Wife Charged with Sex Trafficking Teens

Husband and wife busted​A Federal Grand Jury indicted a Bay Area couple, charging the pair with conspiring to traffic teenage girls and force them to provide sex acts to customers in exchange for money and drugs.According to United States Attorney Melinda Haag, Mahendar "Mike" Singh, 40, and his w ... More >>

DA's Office to Comply with Judges' Orders Unsealing Secret Crime Lab Memo

Rockne Harmon​A spokesperson for San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón said this afternoon that the DA's office will obey an appellate court's ruling that prosecutors disclose a potentially damaging memo on problems with DNA-testing procedures at the San Francisco Police Department crime ... More >>

DA Candidates Ramp Up Attacks on George Gascón over Efforts to Conceal DNA Lab Memo

Photo courtesy Sharmin Bock for District AttorneyBill Fazio, David Onek, and Sharmin Bock speak to reporters at City Hall​Candidates attempting to unseat District Attorney George Gascón in the November election held a press conference today in an effort to draw attention to Gascón's continued ef ... More >>

DA's Office to Appeal Judge's Order Unsealing DNA Lab Memo

George Gascón​Prosecutors in the office of District Attorney George Gascón have decided to appeal a judge's order that they release an internal memo detailing problems with DNA analysis in the San Francisco Police Department crime lab.The San Francisco Chronicle reported on Saturday that the DA' ... More >>

Over Prosecutor's Objections, Judge Says He Is 'Compelled by Law' to Release DNA Lab Memo

​A judge rejected a prosecutor's pleas today that he reconsider his decision to release a controversial secret memo criticizing the San Francisco Police Department crime lab, stating that he is "compelled by law" to share the document with defense attorneys.In his rulings, San Francisco Superior C ... More >>

More Bait Car Cases Dismissed in San Francisco Court

Gotcha. Or actually, not really. ​A year after truTV's Bait Car rolled into town to catch San Franciscans on camera "stealing" vehicles, more than half of the resulting criminal cases have been dismissed, the public defender's office says. We wrote a cover story on the police department's money-ma ... More >>

Ernest Scherer III, Bay Area Gambler, Killed Parents to Get Inheritance, Jury Says

Ernest Scherer III​A jury today found Ernest Scherer III guilty of killing his parents, saying he murdered them so he could access his inheritance early and pay down mounting poker debts. In March 2008, Scherer was arrested on suspicion of murder after the bodies of Ernest Scherer Jr., 60, and Cha ... More >>

U-Visa: Illegal Immigrants Become Legal Residents Via Crime Victimization

California Family Courts Helping Pedophiles, Batterers Get Child Custody

Gay Grifter Case: Palm Springs Jury Weighs Murder Charges Against San Francisco Attorney

David Replogle has seen better days​A Palm Springs jury today weighs evidence against a downtown San Francisco attorney and his alleged henchman, after a prosecutor entered closing arguments claiming lawyer David Replogle and Miguel Bustamante helped murder retiree Clifford Lambert and loot his as ... More >>

Prosecutor: Crime Lab Produced 'Misleading' Report Implicating Murder Suspects

Rockne Harmon​District Attorney Releases Critique of DNA Evidence in 2007 HomicideA highly regarded prosecutor and DNA expert who was employed for three years at the San Francisco District Attorney's office authored a critique of work at the San Francisco Police Department crime lab earlier this y ... More >>

DNA Lab Fallout: Lawyers Ask Judge to Dismiss Rape Cases Over Sample Switch

​Two San Francisco defense attorneys are asking that their clients' rape cases be dismissed because of a DNA sample mix-up -- and its subsequent concealment -- at the San Francisco Police Department crime lab in 2008.The cases may be the first to be directly affected by the latest lab scandal, whi ... More >>

Exclusive: SFPD Concealed DNA Sample Switch at Crime Lab

​Records of bungle in 2008 case were destroyed, investigation findsA forensics analyst's error that resulted in a mix-up of DNA samples, reportedly in a homicide case, has been concealed by officials at the San Francisco Police Department crime lab for close to two years, SF Weekly has learned. Th ... More >>

DA Kamala Harris' Challenge to Crime Lab Ruling Rejected

Kamala -- you've been judged.​Prosecutors in the office of District Attorney Kamala Harris have failed in their efforts to prove a bias claim against the judge who reprimanded the DA's office for its handling of a scandal at the San Francisco Police Department's drug-testing lab. In May, San Franc ... More >>

Judge Dismisses Juror For Sleeping During Oscar Grant Murder Trial

A murder trial is no time for a siesta​Anybody who's ever watched trial proceedings in a stuffy, poorly lit courtroom as 2 p.m. rolls around knows it can be tough to stay awake for the administration of justice. But the nap-inducing tedium of the courtroom is apparently proving to be a serious pro ... More >>

Teacher Accused Of Lewd Acts Is A Hit With Students Online

Accused of doing more than teaching music...​A Visitacion Valley Middle School music teacher is accused of being the teacher from hell for three students whom prosecutors allege he touched and invited over to his residence. But in cyberspace, kids love him. On ratemyteachers.com, Terry Braye is cu ... More >>

D.A. Kamala Harris Doesn't Know How Many S.F. Cops Are Also Criminals

​You heard that right: San Francisco District Attorney and Police Chief George Gascon said at a press conference this afternoon that they don't know how many police officers in San Francisco have past criminal convictions.The press conference came in the wake of damaging revelations in the San Fra ... More >>

Medical marijuana growers score a defense

Catch and release: Did the SFPD lose track of a star witness?

Bouncers Gone Wild

Despite increasing regulation, clubs don't always check their bouncers' backgrounds.

Snitch

Deanna Johnson testified against a murderer to save her son. But in the projects, truth comes at a price.

Convicted Embezzler Linda Simwa Cons SF Symphony, UCSF

Lawyers Behaving Badly

Featured Stories

Stained Rep

Pay to Play

The son of a world—renowned chef says he wanted to reform the phone industry. The feds say he wanted to get rich quick.

Untouchable

Half of U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan's lawyers have quit. But as he remains bunkered against criticism, who's minding the shop?

Innocence Arrested

Albert Johnson was exonerated for a crime he didn't commit, but not before spending over a decade in prison. Why guiltless people get jailed -- and how to stop it.

Charmed

The amazing transformation of Carmen Policy, defender of mobsters, babysitter to flashy kid moguls, and now savior of the Cleveland Browns

Cothran

Madam I Am

Raeshel Keavy ran one of the city's most sophisticated and profitable prostitution rings. She was safe until she strayed from San Francisco.

Panic or Attack?

Did this aspiring cover boy, who says he killed in a panic fit brought on by unwanted gay advances, get away with murder?

Cothran

School of Scandal

U.S. alleges $3 million fraud at Oakland's Laney College; 400 "students" involved

Hallinan's Right Cross

The narrow bandwidth of San Francisco politics makes most elections a contest between liberals. The DA's race, which pitted prosecutor Bill Fazio against centrist Arlo Smith and progressive Terence Hallinan, promised to change all that. But when Fazio zig

Cops vs. Cops

Can a credible case be built against errant cops if the witnesses are involved in the drug trade?

City Slackers

A guide toSan Francisco political corruption -past, present, and future

Cyperpornocopia

Milpitas residents Carleen and Robert Thomas found a lucrative way to sell the hardest of hardcorepornography to smut fans all over the country: by computer bulletin board. Then their little Silicon Valley startup attracted the interest of a U.S. Postal S