District Attorney Chesa Boudin and his follower justify his prosecutorial success by touting he’s “charging” a high volume of criminal cases. “Charging,” which is synonymous with “filing,” is the equivalent of shooting a basketball at a basketball hoop. It says nothing about the success of the shot. Exactly similar, claiming you “charged” a crime provides zero context on his success as a prosecutor. “Charging” is a misdirect.
Just as a basketball player can take thousands of shots and not make a single basket, it is appearing as likely that Boudin is not achieving any felony prosecutions. And as Marco can testify, Boudin’s failure in his case has led to another corpse.
The Headbutt on Marco
Marco operates his own business, working 13 out of every 14-days. Per court transcripts: on a Friday evening in November 2019, Marco and his brother-in-law finished cleaning their work truck and went to the corner store to pick up a sixpack of Modelo. They finished the beer around midnight and walked over to the 26 Mix bar on 26th and Mission Streets. At 26 Mix, they each ordered three more beers.
The court transcripts suggest Marco went straight from work to drinking on an empty stomach. This, if true, would have exacerbated the effects of his alcohol consumption.
Inside 26 Mix, at about 1:45am, Anthony, a bar employee, approached Marco. Anthony was not wearing a security uniform, but by his demeanor Marco could have reasonably inferred he represented 26 Mix. Anthony instructed Marco it was closing time and he had to leave. Marco questioned why he was the first person asked to leave and asked if he could finish his beer first.
With two hands, Anthony dragged Marco out of 26 Mix. On the sidewalk, Anthony approached Marco’s face and headbutted him once. The impact of the headbutt opened a 1 ½ inch gash on Marco’s forehead requiring nine sutures.
Marco called SFPD, who reviewed the video evidence and arrested Anthony. 26 Mix fired Anthony over the incident. Marco suffered and was stuck with a $4,000 hospital bill.
An additional fact: Anthony is over 6-feet tall and weighs over 200 pounds. Marco is 4’11”.
Marco’s Testimony
Like a basketball player taking a half-assed shot, District Attorney Chesa Boudin “charged” Anthony with a felony seemingly to simply get the ball out of his hands. On February 5, 2020, Marco testified in the preliminary hearing in Department 9. Anthony was represented by public defender Christopher Garcia.
Garcia argued that Marco’s permanent scar came from a serious bodily injury—a misdemeanor, and not a great bodily injury—a felony. He continued that Anthony had only been convicted of one previous crime, failing to mention the conviction was for forceable rape—a strike conviction. Finally, Garcia claimed that Marco’s mind was impaired by alcohol and insinuated that Marco immediately started drinking after work on an empty stomach.
In preparation for this article, I Googled Marco’s phone number and learned he manages a food truck. Which means, and was confirmed by Marco, that he has access to food all day. Why didn’t Assistant District Attorney Nabilah Hossain conduct similar court preparation and present this fact to weaken Garcia’s claims? I contacted Hossain, but like so many others, she quit Boudin’s office almost immediately after being hired and would not respond to my requests.
Despite sloppy preparation by the prosecution, Judge Rita Lin determined that probable cause existed and that Anthony did commit great bodily injury in his cowardly attack on Marco.
Where was Boudin’s Victim Service’s restitution for Marco?
Marco did not place much faith in our justice system. He incurred a 1.5-inch scar, requiring nine stitches, three trips to the hospital, and suffered three weeks of headaches. And, in the hearing he was very concerned about the $4,000 in hospital bills he owed because of Anthony’s headbutt. Couldn’t someone in Boudin’s office have guided Marco to the civil remedies available against 26 Mix?
Boudin frequently boasts about his Victim Service unit which provides restitution for victims. It is Boudin’s philosophy that if a victim is made economically whole, it disincentivizes their need to testify against their felony assailants and keeps those felons on the streets. Marco told me he received no offer of restitution from Boudin’s office.
Did Boudin’s Victim Services not offer restitution to Marco because they recognized he was foreign-born and unfamiliar with victim’s compensation? Was Boudin’s Victim Services hoarding funds to persuade more sophisticated and adamant victims not to testify?
The Boudin Bait-and-Switch: Charge the crime, then drop the case
Despite Judge Lin having determined probable cause existed, Boudin simply dropped the case against Anthony “in the interest of justice” on June 1, 2020. There was no explanation in the Department 22 transcripts.
Michelle Tong: a power and influence issue
During the dismissal, Anthony was represented by Superior Court Judge-elect/public defender Michelle Tong. She was a stand in for Garcia.
On March 3, 2020, Michelle Tong won the election for a judicial seat on the Superior Court and assumed office in January 2021. Thus, while Tong was negotiating the disposition of Anthony’s felony in June of 2020 she was still employed as a public defender but had leverage over the District Attorney’s office because she would soon be adjudicating their cases.
Consider: does a coworker whose formalized promotion is not effective for another month have power and influence over colleagues? Didn’t Boudin’s former coworker, Judge Tong, have a conflict here? And does it raise further suspicions why Boudin mysteriously dropped this case?
Boudin’s Airball Results in Another Murder
Merriam-Webster defines an “airball” as a basketball shot that entirely misses the basket, the rim, and the backboard.
Even though Boudin charged Anthony with a felony for the assault on Marco it was clearly an airball when he dismissed the case. That dismissal, “in the interest of justice,” preceded Anthony approaching a man at 26th and Treat Streets public housing and punching him in the face. The assaulted fell to the ground and died. Anthony was arrested for the murder of that man on 26th Street only a few blocks away from the 26th Street incident where he head butted Marco.
And sadly, we have to ask the same question again: would this new murder victim be alive today had Airball Boudin made the murderer experience any consequences for the earlier spineless headbutt on Marco?
Two cowards: Anthony and Airball Boudin
Just as over 6’ Anthony selected 4’11” Marco as the first person to toss out of 26 Mix, the victim at 26th and Treat Streets was only 5’5” tall. Claiming Anthony is a coward is an understatement.
But doesn’t Boudin show equal cowardice?
Why doesn’t Boudin just say he is not going to prosecute? Why does he instead have to misdirect the gullible with his bait-and-switch “I charge a lot of cases?” Why does Boudin not produce statistics evidencing if he has ever achieved a felony prosecution? Why is Boudin comfortable with now-fired CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, but unaccommodating to more inquisitive interviewers? What is Airball Boudin afraid of?
Thank you, Lou. This is public service you perform.
Thanks for this article.