No suspect named yet in petition theft
Despite a video and several witness accounts, police haven’t identified or arrested a suspect in the theft of San Francisco school board recall petitions a month ago, with the main witness saying officials believe it could take weeks or longer to decide whether to file charges or make an arrest.
After the witness’ lawyer called on District Attorney Chesa Boudin on Friday to recuse himself from the case, citing an alleged conflict of interest, Boudin’s office told The Chronicle on Monday that the matter has been referred to the state Attorney General’s Office, although his office didn’t explain why.
Police said they responded to a report of petition thefts on May 30 at about 11:20 a.m. in the city’s Inner Richmond district, where a recall volunteer, Kit Lam, reported that a man walked up to the signature drive table at the farmers’ market and walked away with signed petitions.
After a verbal confrontation, captured on video, the suspect returned the paperwork and then fled, police said earlier.
The school board recall effort seeks to remove three board members in the wake of controversial votes over renaming schools and changing the admissions process at elite Lowell High School.
Officials said earlier this month that they are aware of a possible identification of the suspect posted on social media and noted that they are working “diligently” on the case.
Following the circulation of the video, an employee of Jewish Vocational Service in San
Francisco was fired from his job. The company, which trains people for livingwage jobs, said the employee was off duty at the time and “apparently interfering with the petitiongathering process of the San Francisco Board of Education recall.”
Police confirmed Monday that the Special Investigations Detail is working on the case, but provided no additional updates or an explanation as to why the case has been delegated to the unit.
The Special Investigations staff has “special training and skills to accomplish a task that includes complex, sensitive and confidential criminal investigations. These units work often with outside State or Federal agencies,” according to the department’s online site, investigating hate crimes, arson, bombs and more.
Lam, who was collecting signatures to recall board members that day and confronted the alleged thief, said investigators have interviewed him about the incident and they have the videos. He doesn’t understand why there has been no arrest.
“It just doesn’t make sense at all,” he said. “I want the suspect to be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Lam believes the suspect also used a false name and address on recall petitions for Boudin —presumably to sabotage the effort — that were on an adjacent table in the same area that day, which would also be a crime.
In the meantime, Lam has hired attorney Paul Scott, who has called on Boudin to recuse himself from the case, citing a conflict of interest.
“By placing a false signature on the DA recall petition, (the suspect) subverted the effort to collect the statutorily required number of signatures needed for the recall,” Scott said in a letter to Boudin on Friday. “Other evidence available to Mr. Lam indicates that the suspect was also an active supporter of your election campaign.”
Boudin’s communications director, Rachel Marshall, confirmed that the case was referred to Attorney General Rob Bonta.
The school board recall effort seeks to remove board members Alison Collins, Gabriela Lopez and Faauuga Moliga from their elected positions. The effort has collected over 20,000 signatures out of about 51,000 required.