A 16-year-old boy spent almost three weeks in San Francisco County Jail after allegedly providing a false name and age to law enforcement.
Despite immediate alerts regarding his possible minor status, the city took 20 days to verify his true age.
In August, the defendant was booked for allegedly transporting and possessing a controlled substance with intent to sell.
Upon booking, law enforcement incorrectly recorded him as a 21-year-old, a claim also adopted by the District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, who charged him with serious felony narcotic sales-related offenses.
This week, however, San Francisco Superior Court visiting Judge George Eskin ruled that the boy was actually a minor, aged 16, and that his real name was different from what the authorities had documented.
During the extended period of uncertainty about his age, the defendant was placed in C Pod, a specialized unit within the jail designated for individuals with special needs.
According to information from his father and emails reviewed by Mission Local, the teenager was kept in isolation from other inmates in this section, designed for safety and psychiatric needs.
Minors under the age of 18 in California are prohibited from being detained in adult jails.
Instead, they should be held at the Juvenile Justice Hall, but in this case, the Sheriff’s Department could not verify the defendant’s age, resulting in his continued placement in C Pod.
Advocates familiar with the case noted that the Jail was attempting to ensure the defendant’s safety while assessing the situation.
When arrested, the defendant’s father had communicated his son’s true age to courthouse support staff.
Despite possessing childhood photographs, a birth certificate, and a passport, their relationship had not been formally verified by city agencies or attorneys.
Emails indicate that the defendant occupied his time in C Pod with crossword puzzles provided by support staff.
However, his requests for a Bible and a tablet went unfulfilled, particularly during a holiday weekend with limited staffing, as noted by a worker.
Due to privacy laws protecting juvenile cases, the Sheriff’s Department declined to comment on the specific details of this case.
Rani Singh, the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department chief legal counsel, revealed that she became aware of the identification issue after discussions during court hearings last week.
Instances of defendants providing false information or being misidentified are common, particularly when language barriers are present, according to juvenile defense attorneys.
However, it’s rare for minors to claim to be adults, as noted by DA prosecutor Kirk Earl during a recent hearing.
In this case, the defendant falsely claimed to be born in 2000 and provided a different name, shifting the burden of proof onto his defense attorney, rather than the District Attorney’s Office.
In a prior hearing, another judge deemed a photocopy of the claimed birth certificate insufficient, mainly because it bore a different name than the one submitted to the court.
This week, defense attorney Paul Dennison presented a sealed envelope containing a birth certificate from the defendant’s home country.
Dr. Greg Mar, a retired forensic odontologist, testified via Zoom that an analysis of the defendant’s dental X-ray confirmed his status as a minor.
“It’s been a challenging process over the last four days to gather this evidence,” commented Singh, acknowledging the efforts made to verify the defendant’s age.
The birth certificate was ultimately revealed in court, displaying a birth date in 2009, which sparked whispers among the waiting attorneys.
Nearly three weeks post-arrest, Judge Eskin ordered the defendant’s transfer to juvenile hall with a set bail of $10,000.
Prior to the hearing, the defendant’s father produced photographs of his son celebrating his sixth-grade graduation in 2020, along with a certificate of academic excellence that showed he ranked in the 92nd percentile of his class.
Additional images depicted the boy celebrating his 16th birthday with balloons and family.
Despite the passage of time, the defendant appeared before the court still reminiscent of the child in those photographs, although his once-round face had begun to show signs of the stress of incarceration.
He waved to his father located at the back of the courtroom before being escorted away by a deputy.
Additional reporting by Mariana Garcia and a correction regarding the defendant’s age being mistakenly noted as 17 in earlier versions were also noted.
image source from：missionlocal
