S.F. sheriff chief of staff changed hit-and-run story, warrant reveals

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The chief of staff of the San Francisco Sheriff’s Office told his colleagues two different stories to explain away the collision that led to his arrest and booking early Sunday morning on misdemeanor charges related to a hit-and-run and filing a false report. 

First, Richard Jue told two deputies that his city-issued 2012 Ford Fusion was struck on March 4 while he was eating in a restaurant. The next day, he recanted that claim, and admitted that he was the driver at fault who hit another car. 

Even then, Jue’s amended story didn’t add up.

Jue told the deputies that he got out of his vehicle to assess the damage after the collision, according to an affidavit within a June 20 warrant for Jue’s arrest. Surveillance video provided by the alleged hit-and-run victim reveals an unidentifiable white sedan crashing into the victim’s parked car, but it doesn’t show the driver ever getting out of the vehicle.  

Jue also said that there were no reports of a vehicle collision when he contacted the San Francisco Police Department on March 6. But, according to the warrant, the owner of the car Jue allegedly totaled told an investigator that he’d reported his vehicle being damaged, and a Sheriff’s Deputy subsequently found the matching SFPD hit-and-run report.

In Jue’s initial version of events, he said that his car had been struck in a parking lot near Diamond and Kern streets in Glen Park on March 4. He said that he “canvassed the area for any witnesses and found none,” then drove home to report the accident to the unit of the sheriff’s office responsible for maintenance. 

It took two weeks for Jue to provide a statement about his wrecked car to anyone other than the maintenance unit. 

On March 18, Jue told one deputy that he “forgot to report the accident which took place 14 days prior because he was sick and preoccupied with work.” He added that “if the suspects who damaged his vehicle were found, he did not want to press criminal charges against them.” 

A “short while later,” a sergeant told the deputies who interviewed Jue, identified by the last names Davis and Kim, to hold off on writing a report because Jue “was going to notify his Chain of Command.” 

The following day, the same deputies were told that Jue had changed his mind, and he “had more information for them.” 

“Jue started off the interview by saying he was embarrassed and wanted to apologize for providing misinformation in his previous statement the day before,” the warrant says. 

The former longtime SFPD officer and chief of staff to Sheriff Paul Miyamoto then presented the deputies with a new version of events from March 4. In reality, Jue admitted, he’d been driving south on Diamond Heights Boulevard, more than a mile away from the location where he initially claimed that his city-issued vehicle was struck. 

Jue said he’d started feeling pain in his abdomen. He also got a cellphone notification. Looking down to grab his phone, Jue said he steered into an unoccupied Tesla parked along the curb. 

Feeling the pain worsen and a need “to use the restroom,” Jue told Davis and Kim, he drove the five blocks to his home when he did not see anyone in the area. According to the warrant, he did not leave a note for the owner of the Tesla, Tyler Vu. 

Two days later, Jue continued, he had been issued a replacement vehicle. He said he drove back to the scene, but could not find Vu’s car. 

Deputy Joel Gomez spoke to Jue outside Jue’s house on March 6 when he towed the city-issued 2012 Ford Fusion. Gomez later told an investigator that Jue had “struggled to explain” how his vehicle had been damaged and his “thoughts were all over the place.” 

The Tesla, the warrant says, was towed to a repair shop where it was determined to be a total loss. 

On May 29, Detective Sergeant Kurt Ledesma of the Sheriff’s Department criminal investigations unit received a call back from Jue’s attorney, Bill Fazio. Ledesma, according to his affidavit, was informed that Jue declined an interview because there was “no reason” for him to speak to an investigator.  

Fazio did, however, email Ledesma a doctor’s note saying that Jue is taking medication to manage Type 2 diabetes, and the medication can cause abdominal cramping and diarrhea. 

Jue was released on $7,500 bail on June 22. He is scheduled to be arraigned on June 26. 

In an “inter-office correspondence” from that date, Miyamoto wrote to the Sheriff’s Department that “all members — regardless of rank or role — are held to the highest ethical and professional standards. All are accountable for behaviors, both on and off duty, for sustained criminal conduct or administrative misconduct.”