After missing four previous court dates, Jesus Esparza pleaded not guilty today to fatally stabbing his 64-year-old neighbor, Mei Ran Hu.
Esparza has been held in custody since the May 5 homicide, in which he allegedly stabbed his next-door neighbor, monolingual Cantonese speaker Hu, in an affordable housing complex at 462 Duboce Ave. Hu died shortly after the incident from her injuries.
Ilona S. Yañez, a deputy public defender representing Esparza, said that her client is experiencing severe mental illness. In her conversations with Esparza, she says, it’s evident that he does not know either his age or why he’s behind bars. “This is a tragic situation for everyone. And he’s just a very simple, limited person,” she said.
Yañez pointed to the difficulty in getting him to the hearings where lawyers, family members, translators of both Chinese and Spanish, and the judge gathered on four earlier occasions.
Superior Court Judge Victor Hwang made it clear to Esparza that, when asked, he had to appear in court.
“When the bailiffs tell you to come to court, you are required to come to court and be present at all proceedings, regardless of the language that the deputies may use in talking to you,” Hwang said. “If you fail or refuse to appear. The court may proceed in your absence.”
Then Hwang asked Esparza if he had any questions. He did not seem to understand the question.
“The question is, ‘I have to come to court?’” the latter said, speaking through a Spanish translator.
Despite previous court appearances, Hu’s family was not in court today. Zhi He Kuang, Hu’s son, told Mission Local that they did not plan to attend. Esparza “is always unpredictable. It’s harder to see him than to win the lottery,” said Kuang.
Yañez speculated that Esparza may have decided to attend court today to see his mother, whom he missed terribly, she said.
Maria Molina, Esparza’s mother and previous caretaker, has attended every court hearing, hoping to see her son. When he failed to appear for earlier court dates, she sometimes sobbed alone in the audience. Her son looked “well” today, she said.
The next court date is July 28, when attorneys for both sides will meet to set a time for a preliminary hearing.
Mei Ran Hu’s family has set up a GoFundMe page with a goal of $30,000, hoping to help Hu’s son recover from the tragedy.
This is such a collision of issues and what appears to be missing information. Mei Ran Hu, as a 64 yr old mono-lingual Cantonese speaker ex-janitor who had cared for her mother at 462 Duboce probably was “profile” of the low-income resident. Jesus Esparza was living there–but it’s been completely unclear as to how. Bridge Housing, which runs 462 as affordable housing has no psychiatric social workers, nurse practitioners, or psychiatrists on its Board for this building–and none in senior management on its website (https://bridgehousing.com/about/leadership-team/) . And there’s no notice that 462 was in any way a “supportive housing” establishment. And filtering Bridge’s own website by criteria shows 462 was meant for “seniors” under their own tab. https://bridgehousing.com/properties/?fwp_categories=san-francisco&fwp_city=san-francisco
So–how was Mr. Esparza living there as a 46 yr old? With 20/20 hindsight, he clearly needed the very highest level of mental health support and psychiatric services–and his mother needed to supply the basics of daily living with her visits just to keep him functioning. Nothing in the coverage so far has suggested that he even had the most cursory contact (e.g. no mention that he was ever getting services…) Yes, severely mentally ill individuals are more likely to be the victims than the perpetrator of violence (they are so disabled, they make easy prey to sociopaths)–but—in case, the minority scenario seems to have devolved in the worse possible way for all concerned. We need Bridge to build MORE than the 24 senior affordable buildings they have in San Francisco–and we need a lot more support mental health housing–but it’s not clear at all that they should overlap. Especially in an improvised manner.
Is Esparza not being held by the city? How could he miss a court date if that is true?
Yes, he is in custody, but transport deputies don’t forcibly remove him from his cell unless there is a direct order to do so.
Because the judge is allowing it, and the judge makes the call. Even the command cited in this article is really just an ask as the judge stated “court may proceed.” An order would have been stated along the lines of, “you will be extracted.”
The email that went out and featured this article said “Homicide took place at affordable housing complex near Dolores Park.” That is incorrect, Duboce Ave. is a long way from Dolores Park. It should have said Duboce Park.
The crime itself is a real tragedy. It sounds as if the perpetrator should have been institutionalized if he is that unaware of reality. Another death of an innocent person resulting from untreated mental illness in someone else.