Suspect in Carmignani beating released after former commissioner misses second hearing
A man suspected in the beating of former San Francisco Fire Commissioner Don Carmignani was released Thursday after Carmignani failed to show at a preliminary hearing. The judge set a new hearing date for May 23 and ordered that suspect Garret Doty, 24, be conditionally released.
Dody is accused of beating 52-year-old Carmignani with a metal rod on April 5, causing severe head injuries, including a fractured skull. Hours before the attack, Carmignani and his mother called 911 to report three homeless people that set up an encampment near her home in San Francisco's Marina District, saying they made threats of violence to his family.
This week, the case took a surprising turn when Kleigh Hathaway, Doty's public defender, told reporters that her office had received information about a pattern of incidents allegedly involving Carmignani, all within a four-block radius of his home. Carmignani, Hathaway alleged, had been attacking people who are homeless seemingly without provocation.
Surveillance video and images provided by police and the district attorney's office show a man who resembles Carmignani spraying bear spray at a person who appears to be sleeping. The man appears to be aiming the spray at the person's face.
In an exclusive interview with KPIX, Carmignani insisted he had been the victim of a brutal attack.
"I didn't go out there to fight anyone. I'm trying to get them down the road, go to the park," said Carmignani. "It's three-on-one. I know odds. I'm 52 years old. I have two hip replacements. I'm an old guy, I could have been a dead guy."
However, Carmignani did admit to using bear spray the day he was attacked. "I used the spray as self-defense," he said.
"It's dismaying to find that the prosecutor is continuing with the prosecution in light of the fact that the district attorney and police now have reason to believe that Mr. Carmignani was involved in eight separate acts of violence," Hathaway said at a press conference on Wednesday. "These eight separate acts of violence were perpetrated against people who are homeless."
Thursday's hearing postponement is the second in as many days. After Carmigiani wasn't available to testify at a hearing Wednesday, the court granted a request to move up the date by one day. The judge said that if Carmignani didn't show up, he would order prosecutors to drop the charges.
Carmignani's attorney issued a statement to KPIX denying his client was involved in any prior attacks.
"This is just victim blaming plain and simple. Don was nearly beaten to death. There is no excuse for that. The videos of the attack on Don speak for themselves," said attorney Samuel Ray. "Don is a great guy, but his character is irrelevant. He is the victim of a crime. It is horrible that the media is trying to parade alleged incidents from the past as a reason why he somehow deserved what happened to him, or 'had it coming.'"
Ray said that Carmignani didn't show up Thursday because of medication he is taking due to the attack, and that he is cooperating with law enforcement. "It is unfortunate that Mr. Doty has been released and we hope he abides by the terms of the stay away order and appears at his next court date," Ray added.
Hathaway said she believes Carmignani will never appear and the case against her client will be dismissed, because if Carmignani does attend the hearing he will be potentially exposing himself to criminal prosecution as a possible suspect in prior attacks.
