By Hannah Grayson
San Francisco – The defendant was in custody, but not the gang members. In a preliminary hearing on Friday morning in Department 9, the defense attorney argued this scenario was a miscarriage of justice and the defendant should be allowed bail.
The defendant had been arrested for allegedly being involved in a fight. The defense stated that eight gang members had attacked the defendant’s cousins. He pointed out that the victims were there to support their cousin despite their injuries from the fight. One of the victims was cut and another had a knife to his throat.
The defendant intervened and saved his cousins from what appeared to be death. In this altercation, he wrestled a bat away from those attacking. The defense argued that the defendant was not the one who used 
the bat, and, even if he was, it was in self-defense. Furthermore, the sergeant who had witnessed the fight had not identified the defendant as a part of it.
The defense used the defendant’s lack of violent history as another reason to allow release. However, the D.A. brought up an ongoing case despite the fact that the defendant is innocent until proven guilty.
The prosecution appeared taken aback by some of the information that the defense brought up, as it was apparently new to her. The prosecutor stood by her motion to detain without bail as the police report should be taken as fact.
Judge Lin denied the prosecutor’s motion to detain without bail and agreed to $50,000 for bail, so long as the defendant was also monitored electronically.
A preliminary hearing is set for Monday, September 30.
