“So often our indigent clients are wrongly accused when they are actually the victims of violence and harassment because they do not have the social clout of those who may dehumanize them,” San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju said in a statement.
The incident on April 5 in San Francisco’s well-heeled Marina District was caught on video and drew national media attention as the city grappled with headlines about rampant homelessness, drug use and violence — a view often pushed by Republicans as proof that liberal cities are weak on crime.
The incident unfolded days after the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee, whose murder spurred high-profile tech leaders, including Elon Musk, to denounce city leaders over crime and lawlessness. The main suspect arrested turned out to be a tech consultant who was acquainted with Lee rather than a random robber. The man accused in the attack has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.
At the time of Doty’s arrest, San Francisco’s District Attorney Brooke Jenkins (D), said the office would ensure he was held accountable to send “the strongest message that violence like this in unacceptable.” Carmignani, who was briefly a member of a board that oversees the city’s fire department, had a broken jaw, skull and a traumatic brain injury from the encounter.
The story took a dramatic turn weeks later when the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office accused Carmignani of using a spray — bear spray is generally much stronger than pepper spray — to repeatedly attack homeless people sitting or lying on the ground near his Marina District home in the months before his encounter with Doty.
Carmignani’s attorney has denied he was the attacker. When asked about the incidents during a pretrial hearing, Carmignani repeatedly invoked his right to remain silent. Carmignani has not been charged with any of the attacks, but they loomed over Doty’s trial, which began on Dec. 7.
Jurors heard testimony about Carmignani’s brushes with the law over allegations of domestic violence. The deputy public defender, Kleigh Hathaway, suggested Carmignani was behind at least eight attacks on homeless people who had been camping near the block where he and his parents live.
On the day of the incident, Carmignani threatened to stab and kill Doty if he didn’t move his belongings from the street, defense lawyers said. “When Carmignani left, Doty tried to move his belongings and also obtained a metal rod from a garbage bin for protection,” the press release said. Attorneys said Carmignani returned 15 minutes later and baited Doty to come closer before spraying him again.
The release said Doty “had no phone to call the police, was in fear for his life and fought back to protect himself.”
Carmignani did not testify at the trial. After the verdict, a juror told reporters that video showing a man that resembled Carmignani spraying a sleeping homeless man months before the incident with Doty was “damning.” He called Carmignani a “known vigilante,” according to the San Francisco Standard.
“There was some shoddy prosecution work done here,” juror Mike Brophy told the outlet. “If the D.A. is trying to make a case for coming down hard on homeless violence, if that is in fact an issue, they’ve got to do it with a cleaner case than this.”
The district attorney, in a statement, thanked the jury for its service and said she respected the verdict. Carmignani’s attorney, John Cox, told the Standard that his client was disappointed and criticized how the district attorney’s office handled the prosecution.
San Francisco’s GOP chairman, John Dennis, took to Twitter on Saturday to defend Carmignani. In a media statement, he blamed Democratic policies for putting “residents under constant threat from street dwellers.”
Amanda Smith is a dedicated U.S. correspondent with a passion for uncovering the stories that shape the nation. With a background in political science, she provides in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on domestic affairs, ensuring readers are well-informed about the latest developments across the United States.
