(BCN) — A San Francisco jury returned a verdict of not responsible for Gregory Bolds, who had been held in jail for 5 months whereas awaiting trial on a single cost of felony assault from an incident Might this yr.
Deputy Public Defenders Anthony Gedeon and Gabriella Rodezno represented Bolds, who informed police on the scene that he was warding off a sexual assault, however the officers arrested him and by no means investigated his declare of self-defense. The jury deliberated for lower than someday earlier than acquitting Bolds and at last sending him dwelling.
“The legislation says that an individual is harmless till confirmed responsible, Bolds was presumed responsible each step of the way in which till we had been capable of get in entrance of a jury,” mentioned Gedeon, whose makes an attempt to get Bolds launched from jail earlier than trial had been denied by Judges. On account of being stored in jail, Bolds misplaced his job and certainly one of his sons needed to drop out of school to work to assist pay his lease.
On Might 25, police had been known as to a residential constructing after a neighbor heard a commotion inside a neighboring condominium and heard somebody yell for assist. Police spoke to Bolds, who remained on the scene and informed an officer that he had fought off a sexual assault by an individual whom he had met earlier that evening. However that officer failed to inform their superior and by no means investigated that declare. As an alternative, Bolds was arrested and accused of assault.
The neighbor who known as police and testified at trial mentioned that he was suspicious of Bolds, a Black man, as a result of he had by no means seen him earlier than, despite the fact that he admitted that numerous guests he doesn’t know usually come and go from that constructing. The alleged sufferer on this case, who suffered bruising from the incident, refused to testify.
“We thank the jury for his or her service and for seeing that the state’s proof was based mostly on an incomplete investigation and relied on the testimony of a racially biased witness,” mentioned Rodezno.
“After a number of unjust months of incarceration, Bolds’s proper to a trial finally secured his launch, highlighting the intense significance of a speedy trial proper,” mentioned Public Defender Mano Raju, whose workplace continues to battle to guard this proper for felony instances and restore the precise for individuals charged with misdemeanors. “I commend the protection group for giving Mr. Bolds an opportunity to inform his facet of the story that had been ignored by police and prosecutors.”
The protection group included Deputy Public Defenders Anthony Gedeon and Gabriella Rodezno, Investigator Collin Olsen, and Paralegal Susan Larsen.
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