The San Francisco district attorney’s office on Friday decided against filing charges for the March 24 killing of 24-year-old Tertron Johnson, saying it could not rule out the possibility that the suspect acted in self-defense.
On Friday morning, suspect Gregory C. Morton, who had been arrested Wednesday evening, was released after spending the night in jail on Thursday. Morton was booked for murder after San Francisco police surveilled him for four days, and followed him from Oakland to San Francisco, according to the police department.
A “Ramey” warrant was issued for Morton’s arrest, a special warrant that requires court approval but bypasses the approval of the district attorney’s office.
“There was insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the suspect was not acting in self-defense or defense of others,” said a representative from the DA’s office. “If additional evidence is brought forward, we will re-evaluate the case to see if it is possible to meet the burden of proof.”
A police source said that failing to file charges after a warrant is issued is rare, but not unheard of. “I wouldn’t say it’s common, but it certainly does happen,” said the source.
The burden of proof to arrest a suspect for homicide is lower than it is for the DA’s office to file charges. The office must prove the suspect committed the homicide “beyond a reasonable doubt,” and must gather enough evidence to convince a jury.
Under San Francisco penal code, a suspect held in jail must be charged and arraigned within 48 hours, or released.
According to the San Francisco Police Department, the case is still an open and active investigation.
A police source said that investigators likely hoped that, after the arrest, they would find further evidence at Morton’s home or through surveillance.
“It’s a tricky situation,” said the source.
Mission Local reported that a man with the same name and age as Morton was previously charged with the double-slaying of two teenagers killed at a playground in the Excelsior in 2015. Morton was later released after serving six years in jail.
Less than a year later, Morton was charged with carrying a gun while on supervised release.
Correction: A previous version of this article stated that the district attorney’s office had approved a warrant issued for Gregory C. Morton’s arrest. In this case, only a judge approved the warrant.
Why won’t they release more details around the shooting then. It was after a rap video for a section of Sunnydale called The Low, not the same as the TearItOff section which is known for more violence. Was the victim threatening ppl? Why can’t the news pull the paperwork for the warrant so we can learn more about what’s happening here. There hasn’t been any deaths in Sunnydale since last cinco de mayo it’s relatively safe since most places are being torn down.
This is awful. Press charges and make it stick against the repeat killer! He is a danger to the community! Stop letting him free
Is this suspect, released by Brook Jenkins’ office, “a repeat killer”? The reporter did not reveal the details of the 2015 plea agreement: hard to believe it was “defendent pleads to killing in exchange for release after 6 years of pre trial detention”. But, Chesa Boudin would release anyone for anything, right? Now we have the no nonsense, tough on crime Jenkins, unusually releasing this suspect for insufficient evidence (helpfully put in scare quotes by this reporter) and declining to charge. Press Charges takes all of this in and is ready to take away a man’s freedom immediately and with no further investigation. Reprehensible, ignorant and unserious.