San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Shards of hope for resolution of brazen car break-in case
Most of what happens at San Francisco’s Hall of Justice boils down to a whole lot of nothing. Witnesses wait in the halls for hours or days to be called to testify. Attorneys appear in court for the sole purpose of agreeing on the next time they’ll appear in court.
The wheels of justice, in other words, move painfully slowly. But they do grind away, and sometimes, a fair outcome emerges. And so it went last week in an infamous San Francisco car break-in case.
The defendant was Delon Terrance Barker, 22, who was identified by police and later his own parole agent as the man photographed by The Chronicle on Jan. 30 smashing a car window and snatching a backpack. He walked into Department 11 on Wednesday wearing a bright orange sweatshirt, bright orange pants and handcuffs.
It was his preliminary hearing, and Superior Court Judge Victor Hwang would soon decide whether there was enough evidence to send him to trial. That would be an unusual outcome in San Francisco, which had a record 31,322 car break-ins last year — and just one resulting in a trial.
The twisty tale began when a Chronicle pho-
tographer and I visited Lombard Street to interview residents incensed by the city’s inaction on the car break-ins that plague their block — the block where tourists park to walk down the famous, curvy stretch below.
As we chatted with residents and workers about the shattered glass that turns up far too often — and the unwitting tourists emotionally shattered when their rental cars are burglarized — a man jumped out of a white Volkswagen that had paper plates, smashed the window of a parked Dodge Caravan, swiped a backpack and sped off.
Right in front of us. As my colleague’s camera clicked away.
In a way, his brazenness was understandable. Police made arrests in just 1.6 percent of reported car break-ins last year. The district attorney’s office reported prosecuting 86 percent of the cases they received, but all but one was settled before trial. The Superior Court said defendants received an average of 5.1 months in jail. Most of those who broke into cars faced no consequences at all.
But in an epic case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, it turns out that when your photo runs on the front page of a major newspaper, you become the literal poster child for the crime. And every level of the criminal justice system has to take notice.
Police circulated the Chronicle photos, instructing officers to be on the lookout for the suspect. An officer identified the man as Barker, and the district attorney issued a warrant for his arrest.
On Feb. 23, police arrested Barker and two other men after they were seen breaking into cars in Vacaville and led officers and a California Highway Patrol airplane on a chase down Interstate 80 at speeds topping 100 mph. The car crashed in Oakland, and police said it contained stolen documents, electronics and money believed to have come from more than 10 victims around the Bay Area.
Barker had been arrested before, at age 18 for a carjacking. That time, he was charged with robbery and multiple weapons offenses. He pleaded guilty to second-degree felony robbery and a gun charge in March 2016 and was credited with time served.
In the Vacaville case, Barker was released on $35,000 bail and didn’t show up for his court date May 24. Solano County prosecutors issued a warrant for his arrest. He was arrested on Nov. 17 in San Francisco on the Lombard Street warrant and has been in jail at the Hall of Justice ever since.
His defense attorney, Erwin Fredrich, and Assistant District Attorney Larry de Souza failed to strike a deal before the preliminary hearing. Fredrich said Barker would take 18 months in state prison, but de Souza held out for three years.
The preliminary hearing was set for 9 a.m. Tuesday, and several police officers compelled to testify waited a few hours. One of them feared he’d be late for a physical therapy appointment to help him recover from an injury sustained after he was struck by a different car break-in suspect fleeing the scene.
De Souza eventually asked that the hearing be moved to Wednesday because the police officer who’d translated for the Chinese tourist who’d rented the Dodge van wasn’t available.
Everybody returned at 9 a.m. Wednesday and again waited a few hours while Hwang heard other matters. The pace was so slow, I entertained myself by watching a man in the hallway with a parrot on his shoulder hold up a cup of water for the bird to drink. Apparently, the two are regulars at the Hall of Justice. The parrot is named Mystic, wears a sweater and has business cards. Only in San Francisco.
Finally, the preliminary hearing began. Fredrich asked the judge to remove me from the courtroom because I had seen the Lombard Street incident and could conceivably be called as a trial witness. Witnesses, he argued, shouldn’t hear the testimony of other witnesses.
Hwang said, “It’s preferable, but I’m not going to order it.” So I stayed.
A plainclothes police officer who’d been tipped off to the suspicious Volkswagen circling the Lombard Street block the day of the break-in had been nearby, but couldn’t nab the suspect. He testified about what he saw and said he tested the Dodge’s door right after the incident, and it was locked.
That is key, because a California law requires proof a car was locked for a break-in to be charged as a felony burglary. Otherwise, it’s misdemeanor theft. State Sen. Scott Wiener is trying for the second time to change state law so a smashed window would be sufficient evidence to charge a felony.
Almost as soon as it began, Hwang recessed the hearing for a 90-minute lunch break. For someone used to the rapidfire pace of a daily newspaper and website, the process was excruciating.
After the long lunch, the officer who translated for the Chinese tourist testified. The tourist had said his backpack contained his passport, Chinese identification card, Hong Kong currency worth about $400, a scarf, a selfie stick and a charger.
And then Barker’s parole agent, Sung Han Kim, took the stand. De Souza showed him the Chronicle photographs.
“Do you recognize who this person is?” de Souza asked Kim.
“Yes, it appears to be Delon Barker. I recognize the face, the jawline, the nose,” Kim said. “He is here in court. He is wearing an orange sweatshirt and orange pants.”
Barker whispered with his attorney at times, but said nothing audible during the hearing and maintained a neutral expression. Hwang said there was enough evidence to send Barker to trial and ordered him held on $140,000 bail. Fredrich asked that he be transferred to Solano County to resolve that case first, but Hwang didn’t decide that matter.
After two days and seemingly endless hours, it was done — for now. Bailiffs led Barker out of the courtroom and back to jail. The witnesses rushed out to resume their busy days.
Fredrich, clutching his briefcase, quickly walked away. He declined twice to comment on the case or say anything about his client.
On Tuesday, he said, “I’m not saying anything. You have your rights under the First Amendment, and my guy has other rights under other amendments. Fair enough, right?”
Of course.
On Wednesday, as he left the Hall of Justice, all he’d say was, “We press on.”
San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight appears Sundays and Tuesdays. Email: hknight@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @hknightsf