Thread: S.F. sheriff charged with domestic violence, must give up guns

S.F. sheriff charged with domestic violence, must give up guns

January 13, 2012 | 5:58pm

Five days after he was inaugurated as San Francisco County sheriff, Ross Mirkarimi was charged Friday with domestic violence, child endangerment and dissuading a witness, after a New Year’s Eve fight with his wife, a former Venezuelan telenovela star.

In announcing the charges against Mirkarimi, a former county supervisor, Dist. Atty. George Gascon said police are investigating the possibility that Mirkarimi might have been involved in earlier incidents of spousal abuse.

Gascon also said a judge is in the process of signing an emergency protective order that would bar Mirkarimi from his home and prohibit any contact between him and his family.

The order would also require the new sheriff to give up any and all firearms within 24 hours.

Eliana Lopez, Mirkarimi’s wife, “is being represented by an attorney, and we have not been able to talk to her,” Gascon said.

“While this case involves a high-profile elected official, we are treating this case as we would any of the hundreds of domestic violence cases we review and charge each year,” Gascon said.

At the same time that Gascon announced the charges at a packed news conference Friday afternoon, Mirkarimi and Lopez held their own briefing at his City Hall office, where he vowed to fight the charges and refused to step down from office.
“We believe that these charges are very unfounded and we will fight those charges,” Mirkarimi said, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. “I’m confident in the end that we will succeed.”

S.F. sheriff charged with domestic violence, must give up guns - latimes.com

Updated: 12:14 p.m. Monday, March 19, 2012 | Posted: 12:13 p.m. Monday, March 19, 2012

SF sheriff sentenced for false imprisonment

By PAUL ELIAS
The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO —

San Francisco's sheriff was sentenced Monday to three years' probation and must undergo a domestic violence program for a New Year's Eve dispute with his wife.

Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi's sentence was part of a deal struck with prosecutors over allegations that he bruised his wife's arm.

Mirkarimi initially faced multiple misdemeanor charges, including domestic violence battery. That could've landed him in jail for up to a year, if convicted.

Instead he pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of false imprisonment. The move came after a round of pretrial testimony about his love life and images were released of his tearful wife, Eliana Lopez, with the bruised bicep.

Mirkarimi, 50, still could face political repercussions. Mayor Ed Lee has said he's considering whether to attempt removing the sheriff from office.

Under the agreement, Mirkarimi must pay $590 in fines, serve probation, spend a year in a domestic violence intervention program, take parenting classes and do community service.

The judge also left a stay-away order in place that keeps Mirkarimi away from his wife until further notice

District Attorney George Gascon previously expressed concern that he was not convinced Mirkarimi really believed he is guilty of the crime.

Gascon told the San Francisco Chronicle's editorial board late last week that statements Mirkarimi has made to reporters about his mounting legal bills — $125,000 and counting — along with intense media coverage had been taking a toll on his family and was a considerable factor to take the plea deal.

Mirkarimi's attorney, Lidia Stiglich, said her client has unconditionally accepted responsibility for the incident.

Prosecutors say Mirkarimi bruised the arm of Lopez, 36, during an argument in front of their toddler son at their San Francisco home on New Year's Eve.

The next day, Lopez told her neighbor, Ivory Madision, who recorded a video in which Lopez, a former telenovela star, tearfully describes the alleged incident and a bruise on her right bicep.

Lopez's lawyers argued to no avail that the video should be withdrawn as evidence because she thought Madison was a lawyer and it was made under the assumption of attorney-client privilege. Madison graduated from law school, but is not a licensed attorney.

Anti-domestic violence advocates are calling for Mayor Lee and the board of supervisors to remove Mirkarimi, a former supervisor, from office.

SF sheriff sentenced for false imprisonment | www.kfoxtv.com

San Francisco mayor suspends embattled sheriff

By Gerry Shih
Mar 20, 2012 10:49pm EDT

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - San Francisco's mayor suspended embattled Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi on Tuesday and initiated misconduct proceedings to remove him from office after the sheriff admitted to restraining his wife during a quarrel on New Year's Eve.

Mirkarimi, who in January became the city's first new sheriff in three decades, had faced pressure to resign since pleading guilty last week to a lesser misdemeanor charge in his domestic violence case, in a deal his supporters had said would allow him to keep his badge and gun.

"Ross Mirkarimi has now pled guilty to falsely imprisoning his wife. After careful review of the City Charter and the evidence before me, I am suspending and formally charging Ross Mirkarimi with official misconduct," Mayor Ed Lee said in a statement.

The announcement came shortly after Mirkarimi, whose saga has stirred a local political uproar and drawn intense media coverage, told reporters he had no intention of resigning and would be happy to face an ethics committee and the city's board of supervisors.

"I am still very able to be the sheriff of San Francisco," Mirkarimi told reporters. "At this time, I do not plan to resign being sheriff."

"I do not believe that the conduct that I have taken responsibility for constitutes official misconduct within the meaning of the law, and I look forward to making my case to the ethics commission and the board of supervisors," he said.

The case against Mirkarimi, who was sentenced to a day in jail and three years of probation, grew out of an argument with his wife, Venezuelan television actress Eliana Lopez, over her plans to take their 2-year-old son, Theo, on a trip to her home country.

In a video shot by her neighbor the day after the incident, Lopez said that Mirkarimi, 50, had grabbed her with such force that he left a bruise on her arm. Lopez, 36, later said she did not wish to testify against her spouse.

Mirkarimi, who had faced misdemeanor charges of domestic violence battery, child endangerment and dissuading a witness, ultimately pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of restraint on liberty.

Lee, who said the suspension would take effect "as early as tomorrow," named as Mirkarimi's replacement retired law enforcement officer Vicki Hennessy, who in 1983 became the youngest captain in California law enforcement.

To permanently remove Mirkarimi from office, Lee would need to gather support from at least nine of 11 members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Lee said the city's ethics commission would begin a process of making a recommendation to the board in five days.

San Francisco mayor suspends embattled sheriff | Reuters