Overview

• At a Friday hearing, defense attorney Scott Grant sought to move Troy McAlister’s case to Drug Court, and the judge set a diversion motion hearing for Oct. 28.
• District Attorney Brooke Jenkins’ office said it opposes diversion and plans to take the case to trial as soon as possible.
• Protesters rallied at the Hall of Justice to oppose diversion and threatened a recall of Judge Michael Begert, who oversees treatment courts.
• Defense filings cite McAlister’s long history of substance use, his acceptance into Salvation Army Harbor Lights, and argue that structured residential treatment with monitoring would enhance public safety.
• Prosecutors argue McAlister would endanger others if released, pointing to the 2020 SoMa crash that killed Hanako Abe and Elizabeth Platt and to prior arrests handled through parole under former DA Chesa Boudin.