Man acquitted of drug charges in San Francisco after claiming to be a victim of human trafficking

The San Francisco public defender's office on Tuesday urged prosecutors to help protect a Honduran man from deportation after he was acquitted last month of drug trafficking charges in the city's Tenderloin District.

The man's acquittal marks the first time that San Francisco's public defender has successfully argued in court that a person accused of selling drugs in the Tenderloin was a victim of human trafficking and was coerced into doing so.

The victory is also the first of its kind in the Bay Area and very likely in the entire state, San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju said during a press conference.

The name of the defendant, who was acquitted last month, was not released publicly Tuesday, but defense lawyers described him as a 27-year-old man from a small town in Honduras. He was not present at Tuesday's news conference.

His lawyers said he grew up in poverty and “blindly followed” an older man on a “harrowing” journey to San Francisco via Guatemala, where he crossed the border into Mexico and eventually jumped onto the roof of “La Bestia,” a dangerous freight train, to reach the U.S. border.

Assistant Public Defender Kathleen Natividad, who represented the man in court, played a recording of him thanking the judge and jury in his case.

Raju's office has repeatedly criticized efforts by city, state and federal authorities to stop drug trafficking in the Tenderloin district. His office's public defenders have argued in court that their clients were themselves victims of human trafficking.

Last year, a jury in San Francisco found a 20-year-old Honduran man guilty of drug trafficking, rejecting his claim that he was a victim of human trafficking and that he was threatened with violence if he did not give the drug traffickers a chance.

Her verdict marked the first time a San Francisco jury had reached a unanimous verdict in such a Tenderloin drug-trafficking trial. Three other similar trials ended in jury stalemates.

Still, Raju said he sympathizes with people affected by the drug epidemic and drug-related deaths across the city.

“I want to emphasize that in my office, we are very, very aware of the overdose crisis in San Francisco that has resulted in many tragic deaths…” Raju said. “We want to honor their lives by working on real solutions that work.”

As of Tuesday, more than 462 people have died of drug overdoses in San Francisco by 2024, according to the Chronicle. If the current rate continues, about 231 more people are expected to die by the end of the year.

The Public Defender's Office also announced several demands to the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, which was accused of prosecuting drug dealers “under joint responsibility” with federal authorities.

In addition to urging prosecutors to assist their client in obtaining a visa for victims of human trafficking, Raju also demanded that prosecutors “take allegations of human trafficking for labor exploitation seriously” and treat defendants the same way they have “evolved” to treat victims of sex trafficking by no longer offering plea deals that he believes put these victims on the fast track to deportation.

As part of his efforts to arrest more drug dealers in San Francisco, U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey has offered several undocumented defendants accused of minor drug trafficking in federal court deals that would spare them prison time but speed up their deportation.

Because of San Francisco and California's sanctuary policies, most illegal immigrants convicted of drug offenses in state courts do not face deportation.

In a statement, San Francisco District Attorney Jenkins said she supports and respects the city's sanctuary city policy, but in an effort to protect all residents – especially immigrant communities from the “scourges of drug trafficking” – she has encouraged and welcomed cooperation with all levels of government.

The aim is to ensure that members of these communities can live in “dignified, safe neighbourhoods where they are not held hostage by unrepentant drug traffickers” who, they say, “commit crimes that result in deaths”.

“We will continue to do everything in our power to protect public safety and hold drug traffickers accountable,” Jenkins said. “We will not back down or go back to the days when confessed drug traffickers were allowed to operate with impunity, as the public defense so shamelessly did.”

Since July 2022, when Jenkins took office, 1,794 drug-related cases have been brought to trial. Last year, her office secured 168 convictions and 97 guilty pleas in other cases, the highest number of convictions and guilty pleas since 2023, according to prosecutors' office figures.

Reach Annie Vainshtein: [email protected]