A judge today dismissed a sexual assault case against city commissioner William Monroe Palmer II, citing a “lack of evidence.”
The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office asked to have the case dismissed because the alleged victim was involved in an unspecified out-of-state incident, and said it would seek to refile the case against Palmer at a later date.
Palmer, 53, who serves on both the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board and the DA’s Sentencing Commission, was accused of sexually assaulting a woman on Aug. 30, 2023, and was charged with five counts, including sodomy, false imprisonment and sexual battery by restraint.
Previously, Palmer he was imprisoned for 31 years for trying to rob an off-duty police officer at gunpoint; he was released in 2019. Palmer was often described as a voice of reason on the Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board, which has been mired in conflict among its members. Palmer’s colleagues designated him as the board’s liaison to the public and the media.
In an afternoon hearing at the Hall of Justice, prosecutor Katherine Wells asked San Francisco Superior Court Judge Alexandra Robert Gordon to dismiss the case, citing a recent incident in which the alleged victim in Palmer’s case was involved.
“We are not able to proceed at this time, because we’re lacking evidence related to a very recent incident related to the victim that occurred out of state on March 16 of this year,” said Wells, who did not detail the incident and said she only learned of it on March 22. “This incident has the potential to bear significantly on the victim’s credibility at trial.”
“We will refile charges against Mr. Palmer, but at this time, we are not able to proceed and sustain our burden of proof at trial,” Wells concluded.
Judge Gordon granted the motion to dismiss.
“I think we would all agree that there are critical pieces that would help us understand the information that we have, that we don’t have, that we’re missing,” she said. “We’re all wondering what the rest of the evidence might show.”
Deputy public defender Sylvia Cediel, who represented Palmer, said she did not learn about the possibility of a dismissal until this morning. When Palmer, who has been incarcerated since Nov. 9, entered the courtroom this afternoon in an orange jumpsuit, he acted relaxed, waving and greeting his friends who were seated in the audience area.
“You are a free person,” Judge Gordon told Palmer. Four of Palmer’s supporters in the audience clapped.
Cediel asked the court to allow Palmer to walk out of the courtroom with her, instead of going through an hours-long process before he could be released. “There are no charges pending. There’s nothing holding him,” she said.
“We have a dinner date,” cut in archbishop Alonzo King from the audience, seemingly hoping to sway the judge.
Gordon approved Cediel’s request initially, but then changed her mind after an objection from the sheriff’s department. “He will be discharged today. I understand that it might not be a time that you would like, and I understand that he’s not going to walk out my courtroom door right now. And I apologize for suggesting that you could do that,” the judge said.
“We are relieved and happy that he’s finally going home,” said Cediel in an interview after the hearing. “He has been vindicated. He has denied the allegations and has maintained his innocence from the very beginning.”
She cited the lack of credibility of the alleged victim as the main reason for the dismissal. “We also uncovered some information that we shared with the DA, which just contradicted some of her story and just things that she just flat out, just lied about,” said Cediel. “Her credibility was really at stake. And she is the only witness in this case. There is very little corroborating evidence, if any.”
Cediel said the March 22 out-of-state incident the DA mentioned in court happened in Chicago, Illinois. The incident did not involve sexual assault allegations, but is of a similar nature to Palmer’s case, involving problems with the witness’ credibility.
Cediel also noted that the Nov. 28 preliminary hearing only included the prosecution’s witnesses, and required a lower burden of proof than a trial. It was also revealed in that hearing that Palmer’s DNA was not found on the victim’s body, clothes or fingernails.
Palmer pleaded not guilty to all charges in November.
Cediel said Palmer had enormous community support from the beginning of the case. “People who knew him always said, ‘This is not Mr. Palmer,’” she said.
Palmer’s supporters sent 28 letters of testimonials to Cediel “to stand up for his character” at the beginning of the case, said friend Linda Parker Pennington, a longtime Bayview resident and former member of the San Francisco Arts Commission.
“We are obviously thrilled,” said Lynn Friedman, a friend of Palmer who showed up in the courtroom. “I hope he is reinstated into his commission.”
Palmer has not resigned from his commissioner roles, despite pressure from Board President Aaron Peskin to do so, according to Cediel. It’s unclear whether or when he will resume his commissioner duties.
He was also arrested in May for an alleged violent incident with his girlfriend then, according to booking logs. He was reappointed to the Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board by the Board of Supervisors the following summer.
As to the possibility of a later trial, Palmer’s public defender seemed optimistic. “I do not think [the prosecutors] are going to refile,” said Cediel. “But if they do, we’ll be ready.”
Palmer’s next court date is April 12, for his parole.
It’s difficult to understand a 31y sentence – robbery, attempted robbery, even of a LEO. That said, he seems to have had trouble prior to that event, and more upon his release. There is video of “Lina” exiting Palmers vehicle (?). She’s described as “disheveled”. Was there a rape – or simply assault?? And he’s on parole! Is this the kind of character that should be on a City commission? Even San Francisco?
As part of the attempted robbery, he kidnapped the victim at gunpoint. I don’t think that should have gotten him anywhere close to 30 years, especially considering his age at the time. But it was certainly more than an attempted robbery.
So it was a Kidnapping AND a robbery. Got it. The headline almost makes the villain into the victim. “Robbery = 31 y” vs “Kidnapping and robbery w/ a gun enhancement = 31 y”.
Ok, 31 y can sound excessive for a first time offense. OH wait, he wasn’t a first time offender? Somewhere in all this is not just ‘punishment’ – but also ‘protection of society’ from folks who’ve demonstrated propensity for acts like those. Its just my opinion, but the later (protection) ranks higher than the former (punishment).
The Robbery charge occurred when Palmer was a homeless 16yo. He used an unloaded firearm and unwittingly car jacked an off duty officer. Palmer was shot during the incident and arrested. Prosecutors at the time used technical sentencing enhancements to sentence Palmer to life in prison despite him only being 16yo in a case that didn’t include homicide or even a credible threat being he was armed only with an unloaded firearm.
I told you so,
Don’t you love to say that now and then instead of, “I’m sorry.” or whatever.
This one had echoes of the Jacobo case a couple of years back all along.
That was one destroyed career.
I dont’ think Aaron can nex his appointment anymore that London can do it to Max Carter-Oberstone’s.