'NUISANCE' CRIMINAL PERSONIFIES FLAWS OF S.F. JUSTICE SYSTEM

Homeless Drug User Has Lots Of Arrests But Little Jail Time

If you want to see how the wheels of San Francisco justice spin
right off their rims, check out the case of Demetrius Spearman, a
37-year-old homeless methamphetamine user and petty thief whose
jacket lists no fewer than 50 arrests in the city in the past decade
- -- but few convictions and almost no jail time.

Spearman has never been convicted of a "serious" crime -- his rap
sheet mainly consists of small-time break-ins and thefts -- so he
usually walks within days of his arrests. He's a sad example of the
nuisance criminal -- never making headlines, but leaving countless
victims in his wake.

One such victim was tennis instructor John Yandell, a 20-year
resident of San Francisco who had his car broken into and a bag of
tennis equipment stolen just three blocks from City Hall the evening
of Sept. 17.

After getting over the shock, Yandell dutifully set out for Northern
Police Station to report the crime. On the way, he happened to spot
a guy near Fulton and Franklin streets carrying a bag that looked
just like the one stolen from his car.

Yandell stopped, confronted the man and called the cops. Curiously,
the suspected thief didn't try to flee.

In a flash, the cops were there and arrested the guy, who was
identified as Spearman.

They even took pictures of Spearman with the stolen bag.

The cops, however, candidly told Yandell that Spearman would
probably be back on the streets in days, if not sooner.

And police records show that he was indeed back on the streets
within days -- two days, to be exact.

But then, that's pretty much the way it goes with Spearman.

Born in Virginia, Spearman has been on San Francisco's radar since
1996, floating between shelters and jails, and getting by on petty
crimes that never rise to a level that warrants serious legal attention.

In the late 1990s, he was busted for receiving stolen property, for
battery and repeatedly for possession of hypodermic needles and
methamphetamine. He was convicted of being under the influence in
1998 and received a 30-day jail sentence.

In 2000, things turned a bit more serious, when he was busted for a
couple of alleged felonies, including burglary and grand theft
robbery. He spent 18 days in jail and was placed on probation.

Soon after, Spearman was arrested for passing bad checks.

Records show that in some instances, prosecutors dropped the cases,
and in some instances, they threatened to revoke Spearman's
probation, though the records provided to us don't make clear if
they ever did so.

In August 2005, Spearman was arrested for possession of meth. He got
three days in jail and three years' probation.

In November, he was arrested for auto burglary. In exchange for his
guilty plea, prosecutors reduced the charge to misdemeanor
possession of a burglary tool. He served 56 days in the county jail
- -- his longest sentence to date.

According to the public defender's office, Spearman was ordered in
January to attend drug court in connection with the burglary charge
in hopes of getting him into rehab.

After an unspecified period, however, Spearman withdrew from the
program and wound up on supervised pretrial release. In other words,
back on the street.

In April, police records show, he was arrested again on drug
charges. The case was dropped.

In June, he was arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia. He
pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and served no time.

And just before last weekend, Spearman was once again picked up on
drug charges -- but by Monday, the case had been dropped.

As for his Sept. 17 arrest for allegedly of breaking into tennis
instructor Yandell's car?

Well, within two days, the charges had been dismissed.

Prosecutors with District Attorney Kamala Harris' office told us
they dropped the case because the police report showed Spearman had
been arrested 12 hours after the alleged crime -- and it would have
been impossible to prove he had actually broken into the car.

Funny, because the victim told us the arrest took place just a half
hour after the crime was committed. When we informed Harris' chief
assistant, Russ Giuntini, he blamed a police report that
inaccurately listed the time of the crime.

So why didn't prosecutors go back and double-check the times?

"We review thousands of cases," Giuntini said. "We can't go, 'Did
you make a mistake this time?' "

Giuntini said Spearman's long case history reflects not only the
guidelines that state voters endorsed in 2000, when they approved
Proposition 36 -- mandating treatment rather than jail time for
small-time drug offenders -- but also San Francisco's unique drug
court rules and lenient criminal justice standards.

Alas, Spearman's story doesn't end there. On Sept. 29, he pleaded
guilty to the felony theft of a backpack stemming from another auto
break-in late last year. Even before his scheduled court appearance
Friday, a deal had been cut with the D.A. -- once again giving
Spearman probation.

Spearman's deputy public defender in his latest two cases, Phong
Wang, described him as an "intelligent and kind person" who "has
great potential and has made big strides since he started the drug
treatment program earlier this year."

When we told her that her client had been picked up on drug charges
only the week before, she said she wasn't aware of that -- and
suggested we call the district attorney to find out why prosecutors
hadn't filed charges.

Wang said Spearman was working with his court-appointed lawyers and
the drug court to get his life straightened out.

"It's called harm reduction," the lawyer said, "and you can't turn
it around in one go-round."

Nor, it seems, in 50.

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