A member of two key oversight bodies in San Francisco’s criminal justice system has been arrested on suspicion of a slate of suspected felony sexual assault allegations, records show.

William Monroe “Tariq” Palmer II  — whose story of redemption after three decades in prison led to media coverage and his emergence as an advocate — is accused of assault with force likely to commit great bodily injury, assault with intent to commit a felony, sexual battery by restraint, sodomy by use of force and false imprisonment.

The alleged incident took place in late August, according to two law enforcement officials familiar with the case, who asked to speak anonymously. Investigators believe Palmer offered a ride to a woman who was walking to a BART station, took the woman to his home and assaulted her.

He was booked into San Francisco jail at 10:33 a.m. Thursday and is being held without bail.

Palmer was arrested on a warrant from the District Attorney’s Office, and his first court appearance is set for Monday, said Randy Quezada, a spokesperson for the agency.

Palmer was 17 when he was sentenced to life in prison after accosting an off-duty police officer at gunpoint and demanding money. When the man told him he didn’t have any cash on him, Palmer took him — in the man’s car — to an ATM at gunpoint, where the off-duty officer withdrew $200. When they returned to the car, the officer retrieved his gun and shot Palmer in the knee.

Palmer ran away but was arrested soon after. 

In prison, Palmer earned his GED and an associate’s degree. He studied art and took up painting. He painted murals there and, after his release, in a pod at the San Francisco County Jail. 

His requests for parole were denied repeatedly over 20 years, and ultimately he challenged his continued detention. When Palmer’s lawyers argued for his release decades later, they acknowledged that he “was reckless and impulsive and created a dangerous situation.” His sentence, however, was “constitutionally disproportionate,” they said.

The California Supreme Court ruled that his 23 years of incarceration were excessive. 

He was released in March 2019 and was on parole at the time of his arrest Thursday.

His experiences — both during and after his incarceration — drew significant media attention, from the Marshall Project and the Washington Post, which looked at the challenges former prisoners face while on parole. And he was featured in the Chronicle for his efforts to stop generational cycles of incarceration. 

After his release in 2019, Palmer immersed himself in civic life. He worked with an organization providing legal services to prisoners with children. On his LinkedIn page, he listed jobs with a Black-owned newspaper and a nonprofit to help “formerly incarcerated, at-risk youth, and system impacted individuals” find their footing back in society. He also hosts a local radio show.

The re-entry council appointed him to sit on the Sentencing Commission, which advises the mayor and Board of Supervisors on strategies “to improve public safety, reduce recidivism, and reform criminal sentencing.”

Palmer’s bio on the oversight board’s website says that after leaving prison, he “immediately assumed the position as a leader by advocating for social reforms, and mentoring youth.” It also noted he “had his own challenges with reentry.”

The Post story detailed Palmer’s efforts to rebuild his life, highlighting his work the Returned Citizens Theatre Troupe, a collective of former prisoners turned thespians. The story also chronicled his struggle with parole since his release, describing several encounters where he was jailed for violating terms of his parole, including one in which a fender bender in May 2020 led to an arrest. Court records show he was arrested in September of that year on another parole violation but further details were not immediately available.

Voters approved a charter amendment creating the oversight board in 2020. It consists of seven members, four appointed by the Board of Supervisors and three by the mayor’s office.

In 2021, members of the San Francisco Jail Justice Coalition — including Glide, the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office, and the Young Women’s Freedom Center, urged Supervisor Shamann Walton to support his application to the oversight board, saying he had “been instrumental in moving our jail system towards more just and fair outcomes for incarcerated people and their families.”

On his 2021 application to join the sheriff’s oversight board, Palmer said he is passionate about justice and equity in sentencing, adding that he would bring an essential perspective to the board because of his experience as a youth offender who’d received an unconstitutionally long sentence. 

“My period of incarceration has prepared me for my purpose in life,” he wrote, “to reform the criminal justice system with fair sentencing for juveniles, adults and life term inmates while maintaining public safety and justice.“

In July 2021, Walton submitted the names of Palmer and  three others to the supervisors’ Rules Committee, which forwarded them to the full board. 

Supervisors then appointed Palmer in 2021 to fill a seat. His term expired this year, and he was reappointed for a full four-year term.  

Upon hearing of the arrest, Supervisor Aaron Peskin said Saturday he’d written to Palmer and asked him to resign from the sheriff’s oversight board “effective immediately.”

“Otherwise I’ll have to go through the process of removing him,” he said.

Reach St. John Barned-Smith: stjohn.smith@sfchronicle.com 

The post San Francisco metropolis commissioner jailed, accused of sexual assault appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

(KRON) – According to San Francisco police, a man was arrested Monday morning at the Castro on suspicion of committing a hate crime against two men.

Person on tracks causes BART delays, coroner responded to scene at Bay Fair station

The incident began just before noon near 18th Street and Hartford Street. The two victims, a 40-year-old man and a 58-year-old man, said a suspect followed them on foot while “aggressively shouting anti-LGBTQ language,” police said. He then allegedly threw a glass object at the couple and the 40-year-old man suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Officials investigating the attack found a likely cause for the arrest of 20-year-old Muhammed Abdullah, who they found in the Dolores Park area. Abdullah allegedly fled from police on foot and was arrested near 18th Street and Church Street. He was later sent to the San Francisco County Jail on two counts of assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of committing a hate crime and resisting arrest.

KRON On is streaming now

“Attacks of this nature are unacceptable,” said Police Commissioner William Scott. “It is of particular concern that this incident occurred as we celebrate Pride Month in San Francisco. Anyone who threatens or harms someone because of their LGBTQ community affiliation will be held accountable.”

According to the police, the investigation is not yet complete. Anyone with information about the attack is asked to contact the SFPD’s Tip Line at 415-575-4444 or text a tip to TIP411. You can choose to remain anonymous.

The post Arrest made in anti-LGBTQ hate crime assault in San Francisco appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

TULSA, Okla. (Gray News) – Police in Tulsa are looking for a handyman who they say violently raped a 70-year-old woman at her home, resulting in “extremely serious injuries.”

According to the Tulsa Police Department, officers responded to a call at the home Wednesday evening when the victim reported that her handyman beat her and sexually assaulted her inside her home.

The woman was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries to her head, face and body, the police said.

Police are now looking for 40-year-old Elga Harper. A warrant has been issued for his arrest. Police said once Harper is captured, he will be charged with two counts of first-degree rape, first degree robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault and battery, and assault and battery by means likely to produce death.

Detectives said while Harper has a beard in most photographs, they believe he likely shaved his face to change his appearance.

Police are asking anyone who sees Harper to call 911.

Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

The post Handyman on the run after violent sexual assault of 70-year-old lady, police say appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

TULSA, Okla. (Gray News) – Police in Tulsa are looking for a handyman who they say violently raped a 70-year-old woman at her home, resulting in “extremely serious injuries.”

According to the Tulsa Police Department, officers responded to a call at the home Wednesday evening when the victim reported that her handyman beat her and sexually assaulted her inside her home.

The woman was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries to her head, face and body, the police said.

Police are now looking for 40-year-old Elga Harper. A warrant has been issued for his arrest. Police said once Harper is captured, he will be charged with two counts of first-degree rape, first degree robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault and battery, and assault and battery by means likely to produce death.

Detectives said while Harper has a beard in most photographs, they believe he likely shaved his face to change his appearance.

Police are asking anyone who sees Harper to call 911.

Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

The post Handyman on the run after violent sexual assault of 70-year-old girl, police say appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

TULSA, Okla. (Gray News) – Police in Tulsa are looking for a handyman who they say violently raped a 70-year-old woman at her home, resulting in “extremely serious injuries.”

According to the Tulsa Police Department, officers responded to a call at the home Wednesday evening when the victim reported that her handyman beat her and sexually assaulted her inside her home.

The woman was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries to her head, face and body, the police said.

Police are now looking for 40-year-old Elga Harper. A warrant has been issued for his arrest. Police said once Harper is captured, he will be charged with two counts of first-degree rape, first degree robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault and battery, and assault and battery by means likely to produce death.

Detectives said while Harper has a beard in most photographs, they believe he likely shaved his face to change his appearance.

Police are asking anyone who sees Harper to call 911.

Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

The post Handyman on the run after violent sexual assault of 70-year-old girl, police say appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said her husband, Paul Pelosi, was released from the hospital Thursday after his treatment for injuries from a violent assault last week in which he was attacked with a hammer.

Pelosi said, “Paul remains under doctors’ care as he continues to progress on a long recovery process and convalescence. He’s home now.”

Law enforcement officers who responded to the break-in early last Friday witnessed Paul Pelosi being struck in the head with the hammer at least once, according to court documents. Officials said the assault was captured on the officers’ body cameras.

Pelosi was taken to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. Speaker Pelosi said her husband was grateful to the 911 operator who directed police to the family residence, emergency responders and the entire hospital staff for “their excellent and compassionate life-saving treatment.”

“The Pelosi family is thankful for the beautiful outpouring of love, support and prayers from around the world,” she said.

Paul Pelosi’s release from the hospital comes as a federal official says the Canadian man accused of breaking into their home and attacking him should have been flagged by immigration officials and blocked from getting back into the US after overstaying his authorized entry more than two decades ago.

David DePape, 42, legally entered the United States in 2000 and later left the country and returned a few times, including entering in March 2008 at San Diego’s San Ysidro border crossing, said a US official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.

Most Canadians are not required to obtain a visa to enter the US as tourists and can stay for up to six months. The official said it was unclear why US authorities admitted DePape after he overstayed his entry in 2000.

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to questions about DePape’s entry to the United States after he violated immigration law. It acknowledged in a statement that DePape was allowed into San Diego from Tijuana on March 8, 2008, but didn’t address any other entries.

San Francisco police said DePape confronted Paul Pelosi in the family’s Pacific Heights home Oct. 28 and demanded to know where the House Speaker was. DePape pleaded not guilty to state charges on Tuesday and was ordered held without bail. His public defender, Adam Lipson, said he looks forward to providing him with a “vigorous legal defense.”

DePape faces state charges of attempted murder, burglary and elder abuse. He also faces federal charges including attempted kidnapping of a US official. His state case will continue Friday, though the defendant will not appear in the courtroom. An arrangement on federal charges has not been scheduled.

In the state court filing, prosecutors detailed the attack in stark terms, saying Paul Pelosi, 82, was knocked unconscious by the hammer attack and woke up in a pool of his own blood.

DePape grew up in Powell River, British Columbia, but relocated to California to be with a girlfriend, stepfather Gene DePape told The Associated Press last week. He has three children with two women, he said. Gene DePape said the suspect had lived with him in Canada until he was 14 and had been a quiet boy.

DePape’s ex-girlfriend, Bay Area nudist activist Oxane “Gypsy” Taub, told the San Francisco Chronicle she met DePape in Hawaii in 2000. The pair lived in Berkeley and had two children during their 15-year relationship.

US officials have long struggled to quantify — let alone track down — people who enter the country legally and overstay visas, believed to be about 40% of the population who are in the country illegally.

There were 684,499 visa overstays from October 2019 through September 2020 among visitors who arrived by plane or ship — more than the population of Vermont or Wyoming – according to the Department of Homeland Security’s latest annual report. The total number of overstays is much larger but has not been quantified because it doesn’t include how many people arrive by land, the primary way for Canadians and Mexicans to enter the United States.

The cost and technological hurdles to develop a checkout system at congested land crossings with Canada and Mexico are enormous. In the 12-month period through September 2020, more than 52,000 Canadians who came to the US by air or sea had overstayed their legally authorized entry.

Despite the challenges, the US official said DePape’s overstay should have been noted in immigration records, which, in theory, should have prevented authorities from admitting him.

The post Paul Pelosi launched from hospital per week after assault appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

TULSA, Okla. (Gray News) – Police in Tulsa are looking for a handyman who they say violently raped a 70-year-old woman at her home, resulting in “extremely serious injuries.”

According to the Tulsa Police Department, officers responded to a call at the home Wednesday evening when the victim reported that her handyman beat her and sexually assaulted her inside her home.

The woman was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries to her head, face and body, the police said.

Police are now looking for 40-year-old Elga Harper. A warrant has been issued for his arrest. Police said once Harper is captured, he will be charged with two counts of first-degree rape, first degree robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault and battery, and assault and battery by means likely to produce death.

Detectives said while Harper has a beard in most photographs, they believe he likely shaved his face to change his appearance.

Police are asking anyone who sees Harper to call 911.

Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

The post Handyman on the run after violent sexual assault of 70-year-old girl, police say appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

TULSA, Okla. (Gray News) – Police in Oklahoma arrested a handyman who they say violently raped a 70-year-old woman at her home, resulting in “extremely serious injuries.”

According to the Tulsa Police Department, officers responded to a call at the home on May 4 when the victim reported that her handyman beat her and sexually assaulted her inside her home.

The woman was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries to her head, face and body, the police said.

Elga Harper, 40, was taken into custody Tuesday after nearly a week on the run.

Harper was charged with two counts of first-degree rape, first-degree robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault and battery, and assault and battery by means likely to produce death.

Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

The post Handyman arrested after violent sexual assault of 70-year-old consumer, police say appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

TULSA, Okla. (Gray News) – Police in Tulsa are looking for a handyman who they say violently raped a 70-year-old woman at her home, resulting in “extremely serious injuries.”

According to the Tulsa Police Department, officers responded to a call at the home Wednesday evening when the victim reported that her handyman beat her and sexually assaulted her inside her home.

The woman was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries to her head, face and body, the police said.

Police are now looking for 40-year-old Elga Harper. A warrant has been issued for his arrest. Police said once Harper is captured, he will be charged with two counts of first-degree rape, first degree robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault and battery, and assault and battery by means likely to produce death.

Detectives said while Harper has a beard in most photographs, they believe he likely shaved his face to change his appearance.

Police are asking anyone who sees Harper to call 911.

Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

The post Handyman on the run after violent sexual assault of 70-year-old lady, police say appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.

TULSA, Okla. (Gray News) – Police in Oklahoma arrested a handyman who they say violently raped a 70-year-old woman at her home, resulting in “extremely serious injuries.”

According to the Tulsa Police Department, officers responded to a call at the home on May 4 when the victim reported that her handyman beat her and sexually assaulted her inside her home.

The woman was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries to her head, face and body, the police said.

Elga Harper, 40, was taken into custody Tuesday after nearly a week on the run.

Harper was charged with two counts of first-degree rape, first-degree robbery, kidnapping, aggravated assault and battery, and assault and battery by means likely to produce death.

Copyright 2022 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

The post Handyman arrested after violent sexual assault of 70-year-old consumer, police say appeared first on DAILY SAN FRANCISCO BAY NEWS.