Jesus Esparza, the alleged killer of 64-year-old Mei Ran Hu, suffers from such mental illness that he does not know why he is behind bars or that he has been accused of murder, according to his public defender.
“His mother was his primary caretaker, and the family is really worried about him, because he doesn’t, at this point, know what’s going on, why he is where he is, or what happened,” said Ilona S. Yañez, a deputy public defender representing Esparza.
Esparza’s arraignment, originally scheduled for this morning, has been postponed until June 12 due to Esparza’s absence. He has been in custody since the May 5 homicide because of “the extreme public safety risk he poses,” according to the District Attorney’s Office. Esparza has been charged with murder, which could carry a prison sentence of 26 years to life.
Three of Esparza’s family members were present in the court today; Hu’s family was not seen in the courtroom.
On May 5, around 11 a.m., Mei Ran Hu, a monolingual Cantonese speaker who had been living in an affordable housing complex at 462 Duboce Ave. since 2018 as a caregiver for her mom, was found bleeding in a stairwell from a stab wound. She soon succumbed to her injuries.
“I knew something was wrong; there was blood on the floor,” Donald, a neighbor who lived on the same floor as Hu and Esparza and found Hu in the stairwell, told Mission Local last Thursday. Since then, Donald has avoided using the stairs and taken the elevator instead.
Yañez said Esparza was not transported to the court from jail in San Bruno, where he was in custody, while a prosecutor with the San Francisco district attorney’s office contended that Esparza refused to come to court.
“At this point, we’re willing to accept that he refused to come to court today,” said San Francisco Superior Court Judge Victor Hwang.
Neighbors of the affordable housing complex where Hu and Esparza lived said Esparza suffered from significant mental health impairment. “He talked like a kid,” a person who regularly visited his mom in the building told Mission Local last Thursday. Esparza always looked “out of it,” according to a caregiver at the complex, and only responded with “grunts.”
Yañez, for her part, said that criminal proceedings against Esparza could be suspended due to his mental incapacity.
California Penal Code Section 1368 allows judges to suspend proceedings if the defendant’s mental health is in question. The defendant may either be incapable of understanding the charges against them, the process, the roles of all the individuals in the court system, or of assisting in their own defense.
“It could be either one” in Esparza’s case, Yañez said.
As the trial progresses, mental health professionals will evaluate Esparza’s mental state, said Yañez.
“This is a tragic situation, and our hearts do go out and send our best, our condolences to the family,” said Yañez. “Mr. Esparza has no criminal history of any kind. And he’s, by all accounts, a quiet person who has lived in this building since, I believe, 2017.”
Hu’s family has set up a GoFundMe page with a goal of $30,000 to help Hu’s son, Zhi He Kuang, recover from the tragedy.
Supposing he is found mentally incompetent – if that meant that he were locked away for life in a high security mental institution in a manner where he could not harm other patients or the staff, then I could agree with that. But if it means he will be released, with a promise to take prescribed medication, back into the public, then it is a serious mistake.
It’s the former. When a defendant is declared incompetent to stand trial while in custody, they are assigned to a california state hospital, napa or atascadero usually from NorCal. While there, the state drs will try to restore their competence. Defendants can only be held as long as the maximum confinement time allowed by the crime they are charged with.
None of this information should be seen as an endorsement of the policy. It is a terrible system that serves no one well
i suggest you look at the security for this building as the victim was not found by staff.
and when did this become a race issue, huh lee?
We need more help, the police dont come most of the time
Im a neighbor,and most are bullies,my partner was hit on the head a few years back and 19stitches, I would have to move to get a judgement. My parrots were stolen. They wont give the fed. My neighbor spits and callls me slut. Yet drunks and addicts are with kitten gloves,but every one else is complaining…
This is insanity. So you can essentially go around murdering Asian elders, as long as you claim to be mentally ill.
Why is it that you’re so convinced that Esparza is mentally competent? What leads you to that conclusion?
I have been his neighbor for 6 years. It’s very very clear that Esparza is mentally ill. But his evil act of murder of a beautiful sweet lady means he should not be returned to public life. In fact I saw the lights were on in his apartment last night and I started crying because WHAT IF? I never want to see his family in this building either. Even though it’s hard to get care for the mentally ill, they did protect him.
I’m very upset because I live in this building. And the lights are in the murderer’s apartment which is across the courtyard from me. Please do not ever let this man out. He is very dangerous and never to be trusted.