SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced eight people were charged in connection to suspected drug dealing in the Tenderloin following a joint federal and local law enforcement operation on November 1.
Six of the accused drug dealers pleaded not guilty in court this week, while two failed to appear in court for arraignment.
As of this month, there are 535 suspected drug dealers with open bench warrants who failed to
show up in court to face narcotics sales charges. Judges granted their freedom from custody pending trial.
Nearly 140 of the 535 suspects have been arrested and released from jail, multiple times, the DA’s Office said.
The District Attorney’s Office said it filed 316 motions to detain the most egregious drug dealing
suspects because of the “extreme public safety risk they pose.” San Francisco judges only granted 32 of those motions to keep the suspects in custody.
“My office will continue to do everything we can to hold suspected drug dealers accountable,”
Jenkins said. “Rampant drug dealing on our streets is unacceptable and every legal means available to us will be used to dismantle open-air drug markets. Suspected drug dealers who choose to sell deadly drugs on our streets will be identified, arrested and prosecuted.”
