https://twitter.com/#!/abc7newsBayArea/statuses/157988434659655680
Update 4:35 p.m. Still waiting on Gascon.
Update 4 p.m. ABC7 is reporting that police have asked Mirkarimi to surrender immediately.
San Francisco D.A. George Gascon has called a press conference for 4:15 p.m.
Update 3:10 p.m. Mirkarimi spokeswoman Susan Fahey told Mina Kim that the sheriff has not yet heard from the DA's office and thus has no plans as of yet to hold a press conference. She said several members of the media are camped outside the sheriff's office.
Update 3 p.m. SF Weekly reports the following:
Newly elected sheriff Ross Mirkarimi is expected to hold a press conference today, responding to domestic violence charges leveled against him.
A source tells SF Weekly that the District Attorney will file three charges against Mirkarimi, including domestic violence, battery, and child endangerment. The Associated Press is reporting that he will face an additional charge of dissuading a witness. Sources inform SF Weekly that authorities are working on registering a warrant for his arrest and making arrangements for Mirkarimi to turn himself in.
Per the source, if the sheriff fails to turn himself in within the hour., police will actively begin searching for him.
Original post
From AP:
Prosecutors are planning to charge San Francisco's newly sworn-in sheriff with three misdemeanors, including domestic violence, related to a New Year's Eve incident with his wife, a law enforcement source close to the investigation said Friday.
Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi will face one count each of domestic violence battery, child endangerment and dissuading a witness, said the source, who would only speak on the condition of anonymity.
A police affidavit says a neighbor reported that Mirkarimi grabbed and bruised Eliana Lopez's arm during a heated argument at their home.
Mirkarimi has denied the allegations. Lopez, a former Venezuelan telenovela star, has defended her husband, saying the incident was taken out of context.
The couple was married after having their first child in 2009.
If convicted of the charges, Mirkarimi would have to give up his department-issued firearm and possibly be subjected to searches as conditions of probation.
We -- along with every other news organization in this city -- have calls out now to try to get some more info.
Jim Stearns, Mirkarimi’s campaign manager, told the Examiner this afternoon that, "if [Mirkarimi's] charged, he’s going to fight it. And he’s not going to leave office, and he plans to be exonerated.”
Yesterday, a coalition of domestic violence groups called for Mirkarimi to step down, at least temporarily, while police investigate the allegations.
Minouche Kandel, an attorney with Bay Area Legal Aid, asserted Mirkarimi's poor handling of the incident could have a chilling effect on victims reporting domestic violence.
"As one of our chief law enforcement officers, he should have come forward and said whatever happened in my family, I want to make sure that it is clear that domestic violence is not a family matter, it's not a private matter," Kandel said.
Mirkarimi's attorney Robert Waggener told our reporter Mina Kim yesterday that Mirkarimi's words have been misinterpreted.
"By no means are those words meant to imply that the commission of a crime shouldn't be investigated, particularly domestic violence. That's what the police should do.
"It’s a very difficult situation," Waggener said. "But he’s confident in the criminal justice system. I’m confident of his innocence and I have a firm understanding of what’s happened here. And I don’t think charges should be filed. If they are, we’re ready to deal with that."
Yesterday, on KQED Radio's Forum program, Peter Keane, dean emeritus and professor of law at Golden Gate University Law School, explained the factors law enforcement considers when deciding whether to charge someone with felony or misdemeanor crimes in a domestic abuse case.
"Generally, it would be the extent of the injury. If someone really engaged in a vicious attack on a spouse and really hurt them badly, that would be a felony. If something is quite minor, and it's a one-time out of character type situation and there are other factors involved that might mitigate it, then those are the things that a district attorney might [consider in charging a misdemeanor]."
