San Francisco DA Jenkins promises fentanyl dealer crackdown, withdraws plea deals
By Lauren Toms
SAN FRANCISCO -- Newly appointed San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins Wednesday said she plans to intensify prosecution of drug dealers caught selling fentanyl, including withdrawing over two dozen plea deals.
Jenkins claimed the dealers in those cases were given too lenient charges by her recalled predecessor, former SF DA Chesa Boudin.
The new police takes square aim at dealers of one of the deadliest drugs on the street.
"Drug overdose is at an all time high and that is one statistic San Francisco shouldn't lead the country in," said Jenkins.
Drug dealers could face time behind bars before going to trial under a new three-tiered strategy, Jenkins announced.
"The hope is that with the imposition of real consequences that we can disrupt the business model that is clearly existing out on the street with these dealers," she explained during a Wednesday press briefing detailing the plan.
The policy is expected to further crack down on drug distribution and use in the city -- particularly fentanyl -- by targeting the dealers themselves.
"We're talking about people who are in possession of an amount of fentanyl that could kill an entire neighborhood in this city," said Jenkins.
The new DA appointed by Mayor London Breed after Boudin's recall and her office plan to implement harsher penalties for dealers, including jail time before trial in extreme cases. Jenkins will also revoke misdemeanor plea offers for at least 30 offenders, instead introducing felony charges.
"These individuals have spent little to no time in jail after their arrest and they were cycled back out on the street to continue the sale of fentanyl," she continued.
More than 1,500 people have died from drug overdoses in the city over the last two years, said Jenkins, with most of the fatalities tied to fentanyl.
"The previous administration did not obtain a single conviction for the sale of fentanyl, despite what was happening on our streets," said Jenkins.
Jenkins said the plan marks a direct action to accomplish her early-set goal of combating drug use in San Francisco.
"It is not progressive to allow our residents to die out on our streets, it is not progressive to let children walk to school past people who are openly ingesting drugs," said Jenkins. "Talking about what you've charged is not enough it's most important what happens on the back end because that's where accountability lies."
The new policy will also allow prosecutors to file sentencing enhancements against dealers who are caught within 1,000 feet of schools, increasing the amount of time a dealer could be placed behind bars if convicted. Additionally, those caught with more than five grams of fentanyl will no longer be eligible to plea in a collaborative court.
The strategy marks the most direct rebuke to one of former District Attorney Chesa Boudin's policies since Jenkins took office last month.
During the press conference, Jenkins suggested that Boudin was too lenient in prosecuting dealers often with misdemeanor charges without naming him specifically.
She said the previous administration had been too forgiving, often allowing offenders to face community justice court where they would be offered social services and potentially avoid a conviction. On Wednesday, Jenkins said fentanyl dealers would no longer get a "free pass" in San Francisco.
Criticism is expected from some supporters of the previous district attorney, who didn't support increasing the severity of offenders and argued that county jails could become too inundated with drug dealers facing the penalty.
After Jenkins called for a review into all open drug cases last month, some defense attorneys vowed to challenge any revocations in court and potentially take the cases to trial.
Elected San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju issued a statement in response to the policy change that questioned the efficacy of such a crackdown. It read in part:
"The District Attorney's newly announced policies around drug cases are exactly the type of regressive and carceral practices that have exacerbated the public health crisis of substance abuse, and have only fueled the mass incarceration of impoverished people and disproportionately harmed BIPOC communities for decades."
The statement went on to point out that the state was in the midst of a health crisis in jails due to spiking COVID cases and said the already overburdened court system would not be able to handle the increased number of cases, leading defendants to wait long past their right to a speedy trial.
"If District Attorney Jenkins truly wants to address the issues facing our city, she should not be relying on outdated and politically expedient soundbites about harsher enforcement," the statement added. "Fifty years of evidence from the war on drugs have shown that these punitive practices have not prevented recidivism nor improved community health and safety. San Francisco can and must do better than this. We should instead invest our city's resources in funding more effective solutions, such as housing, jobs, and treatment."