A San Francisco Superior Court judge dismissed a hate crimes charge against a man accused of yelling homophobic slurs at a gay candidate for the Board of Supervisors but allowed the alleged assault with a deadly weapon case to move forward as a misdemeanor.
The preliminary hearing in the case was held in the courtroom of Judge Carolyn Gold on August 6 with a decision rendered August 7. As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, Jeffrey Landon, 58, was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and a hate crime after he allegedly threw a four foot A-frame sign at Trevor Chandler, a gay man running to represent District 9, including the Mission and Portola neighborhoods, on the Board of Supervisors. The preliminary hearing was held so Gold could decide if there was enough evidence to allow the case to move forward to trial.
On August 6, Chandler testified and the San Francisco District Attorney's office presented a 10-second video purporting to show part of the incident.
Assistant District Attorney Jamal Anderson questioned Chandler about the incident before Landon's attorney, Deputy Public Defender Daniel Meyer, cross-examined him.
Chandler said the event happened at Harrison and 24th streets around 2:30 p.m. July 21.
"I was walking to go knock on doors for my campaign," he said, when he saw "the person seated in orange at the defense table," referring to Landon.
"All of a sudden, he started yelling 'fucking faggot, fucking faggot, fucking faggot' at me and started following me," Chandler continued.
Chandler testified that it's possible Landon knew he was gay because he and his husband had previously passed Landon on the street holding hands, or because he is running a political campaign in the neighborhood. He wasn't wearing anything indicating he was gay, such as a Pride shirt, he testified. Meyer asserted that Landon identifies as queer.
The 10-second video that purports to show part of the incident was presented with the sound on. Anderson objected to the sound being on, saying that "the rules of the court require a transcript."
Gold pushed back.
"If they're saying, 'He's saying something,' I want to hear the sound," she said.
Landon spoke several times in court, accusing Chandler of having taunted him in the context of the audio debate. Later on, Gold admonished Landon to stop interrupting the proceedings.
The audio was played several times; the judge, the witness, and the B.A.R. found the words purportedly spoken by Landon incomprehensible.
"This captures a portion of that," Chandler said in court, making the argument that the slurs were before and after the video, which was seemingly taken from an overhead camera.
Asked Meyer on cross-examination, "It happened before the video started, after the video stopped but not in the time the video covers?"
Responded Chandler, "I've been consistent. That is a 10-second video, not the entirety."
Later, Anderson said that "this is why the court requires a transcript."
Gold replied that "nobody could transcribe those words."
The two also went toe to toe on what part of the incident was shown in the video. Meyer made the argument that it was at the beginning, while Chandler insisted the video was in the middle.
Anderson and Meyer also disagreed about what constitutes assault with a deadly weapon non-firearm (the A-frame sign); that is, how likely it has to be to cause death or great bodily injury. (Chandler was uninjured in the alleged assault.)
Anderson argued that "the defendant acted in whole or in part because of the actual or perceived nature of the victim" and that Landon "used homophobic language before, during and after the assault."
Meyer argued, "If we even call it an assault, the motivation was paranoia, mental illness ... but he [Chandler] was not targeted" because of his sexual orientation.
Gold agreed with Meyer on the hate crimes charge but allowed a misdemeanor assault charge to move forward.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins stated to the B.A.R. she "fundamentally disagreed" with the ruling.
"We believe that there was sufficient evidence presented at the preliminary hearing to establish both the felony assault charge and hate crime allegations to move this case, as charged, forward to trial," she stated, adding that it "reflects a continued issue at the Hall of Justice of judges failing to accurately apply the law to the facts of a case."
The Public Defender's office didn't return a request for comment.
Chandler issued a statement to the B.A.R. that "with the preliminary hearing over and with video confirming the assault, my focus on this case is on community safety and ensuring that the individual no longer presents a threat to anyone in our community."
He added, "I remain grateful for my neighbors who witnessed this incident and offered their help, and the SFPD for their quick action. Based on the facts of the case, the district attorney made the decision to charge this as a hate crime. I remain grateful for her office's quick response."
Updated, 8/8/24: This article has been updated with comments from DA Brooke Jenkins.
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