On June 28, 2020, at 11:04 p.m., San Francisco police officers responded to the Ingleside district regarding a residential burglary in progress. The victim stated the suspect was inside her apartment. Officers observed signs of forced entry, including damage to the door. They located an adult male and arrested him for burglary, possession of burglary tools, giving a false name to a peace officer, and parole violation.
At 11:32 a.m. on Aug. 20, 2020, SFPD responded to the 1800 block of Great Highway, where a victim had tracked his stolen vehicle. Officers discovered a male in the driver’s seat. They ordered him to exit the vehicle, where he was arrested for vehicle theft, possession of stolen property, possession of narcotics for sale, and possession of narcotics paraphernalia.
Two months later, on Oct. 15, officers responded to a call on 19th Ave. regarding a stolen vehicle. The witness stated that the car was driven to that location, and the suspect exited and fled on foot. Officers stopped and detained the suspect.
While they were creating an inventory of his property, two individuals approached them to report that their car had been broken into and their cell phone had been stolen. The victims tracked the phone to this location, and officers determined the suspect was in possession of the stolen phone. Officers also found methamphetamine during their search. The suspect was arrested for vehicle theft, possession of stolen property, possession of narcotics, parole violation, and the cell phone theft.
The following month, on Nov. 6 at 2 a.m., San Francisco State University Police answered a call about a man breaking into a parked car at 800 Font Blvd. The witness identified the suspect, and officers detained him. The suspect admitted to breaking into the vehicle and apologized. Officers asked why he was limping, and the suspect responded that he had been shot during an argument a few months ago at Park Merced. Officers also noted the man was wearing a GPS ankle monitor.
After arresting him for felony auto burglary and possession of burglary tools, officers checked the suspect’s record. They were so alarmed that they included a note in their report for the District Attorney, which stated, “This suspect is dangerous. He has 73 felonies and 34 misdemeanors in S.F. alone.”
On Dec. 20, 2020, at approximately 9:36 p.m., officers conducted a computer query of a car being driven on Eddy and Jones Streets. The license plate came back as a reported stolen vehicle. Officers stopped the car and instructed the male driver to exit the vehicle. A search turned up drug paraphernalia and other items. They arrested the suspect for possession of a stolen vehicle, two counts of possession of stolen property, possession of suspected methamphetamine, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Eleven days later, on Dec. 31, 2020, at approximately 4 p.m., officers responded to a vehicle collision that struck two pedestrians, 60-year-old Elizabeth Platt and 27-year-old Hanako Abe, at 2nd and Mission Streets. Officers arrived on scene, immediately rendered aid to the victims, and summoned medics to the scene. One of the victims was pronounced deceased; the second victim was transported to the hospital but later succumbed to her injuries.
The driver of the vehicle immediately fled on foot, but officers took chase and arrested Troy McAlister, a 45-year-old male from San Francisco currently on parole for robbery, who had committed a burglary just prior to the fatal hit and run.
McAlister was booked for driving a stolen vehicle, possession of stolen property, running a red light, speeding, hit and run, manslaughter, burglary, resisting arrest, driving under the influence (DUI) of drugs, DUI causing injury, possession of methamphetamines, possession of methamphetamines for sale, convicted felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of a large capacity firearm magazine.
And, it turns out, McAlister was the same man arrested June 28, Aug. 20, Oct. 15, Nov. 6, and Dec. 20, for which he served a combined 11 days in jail.
WILL HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF?
In March of 2020, then District Attorney Chesa Boudin, a former public defender who campaigned on reforming the justice system, signed off on a plea deal for McAlister, sentencing him to time served — five years in County Jail while awaiting trial on a 2015 robbery case — as a reward for completing his GED in jail.
In 2015, despite McAlister’s long and violent record, the public defender’s office asked the Court to release him to the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center. Then District Attorney George Gascon pointed out that McAlister was in possession of methamphetamine and committed a robbery as well as battery on a police officer, all while on parole. “The defendant has a history of violent felony convictions dating back to 1995,” Gascon, a noted progressive, said. “As a result of the charged offenses, the defendant’s exposure is approximately thirty-five years to life in prison.”
Since McAlister’s 2020 arrest for the deaths of Platt and Abe (and a litany of other crimes), the public defender’s office has filed numerous motions to delay the case. District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, appointed by then-mayor London Breed to replace Boudin when he was recalled (for which McAlister’s case was a major catalyst) and later elected to the position by voters, wants to proceed to a criminal trial.
Still, thus far, the judge has sided with McAlister’s defense team. Between the first arraignment on Jan. 5, 2021, and the most recent preliminary hearing on July 15, 2024, there have been 40 hearings, motions, and conferences on behalf of McAlister. In an example of history repeating itself, on Jan. 26, 2024, the defense requested that McAlister be released to a residential program with electronic monitoring.
On Sept. 25, Hanako Abe’s mother, Hiroko Abe, received an email from the district attorney’s office saying that a hearing on Friday, Oct. 3 at 9 a.m., originally scheduled to set a jury trial, would now be about giving McAlister yet another chance to get out of jail.
“The defense attorney filed a petition requesting that the case be referred to Mental Health Diversion/Drug Court,” the email explains. “The petition was formally filed on September 5th. The first hearing in Drug Court — labeled a ‘drug court pre-eligibility report’ — is scheduled for October 3rd at 9:00 a.m. in Department 8.”
Since the Abe family lives in Japan, the email explains they have the right to attend the hearing via Zoom. They may also submit a statement in advance regarding their position on the case proceeding through mental health diversion. If they choose to attend by Zoom, they may also provide an oral statement directly to the judge. “Please know that our office is opposing the diversion request and is advocating for the case to remain in criminal court and proceed to trial,” the email states, prior to offers of support through the process.
The numerous chances afforded to a lifelong violent criminal who killed her daughter are difficult for Mrs. Abe to process.
In Japan, a person who drives a motor vehicle in “a state likely to hinder safe driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and thereby comes to have difficulty in driving safely under the influence of such alcohol or drugs” is subject to punishment by imprisonment with work for 15 years when the person causes the death of another.
When I asked Mrs. Abe, through a translator, during a 2022 interview, what she wanted people to know about her daughter, she said, “Hanako loved San Francisco; she wanted to be there, she chose to be there, many odds were stacked against her, but she made it work. But the longer she was there, she noticed a lot of safety issues, especially toward the end of her life, and all she wanted to do was make San Francisco better and safer.”
As for her daughter’s killer, Mrs. Abe said she wanted to be certain justice goes above and beyond whatever sentence he receives. “If McAlister isn’t showing remorse or trying to turn his life around, if he does get out, that isn’t good for him or for San Francisco. It is our responsibility as a society to make sure McAlister is rehabilitated before he is released.”
Clearly, the public defender’s office doesn’t care how Mrs. Abe feels: having the Oct. 3 hearing moved to Drug Court for possible diversion is yet another attempt in 30 years of attempts to set McAlister free without paying for his crimes.