RSS Feed
March 19th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco‘s sheriff was sentenced Monday to three years’ probation and must undergo a domestic violence program for a New Year’s Eve dispute with his wife.
Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi‘s sentence was part of a plea deal struck with prosecutors over allegations that he bruised his wife’s arm.
Mirkarimi initially faced multiple misdemeanor charges, including domestic violence battery.
Instead, he pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of false imprisonment. The move came after a round of pretrial testimony about his love life and the release of images of his tearful wife, Eliana Lopez displaying a bruised bicep.
A tearful Mirkarimi read a prepared statement to the media after the sentencing.
“There are no excuses and I accept full responsibility,” he said.
He “sincerely apologized” to his family, the Sheriff’s Department and the people of San Francisco.
He also said he was undergoing counseling to address “my arrogance and anger management issues” and reiterated his advocacy against domestic violence while serving two-terms on the Board of Supervisors.
He said he wanted to correct a misperception that he once said domestic violence was a private matter.
An advocates group for domestic violence victims erected a billboard near downtown San Francisco proclaiming that “domestic violence is never a private matter.”
Mirkarimi said his remark was meant to characterize his feeling about the criminal investigation of him — not domestic violence.
“I do not believe that domestic violence is a private matter,” he said. “I have worked very hard for the anti-domestic violence community.”
The sheriff declined to answer questions after addressing a phalanx of cameras after his five-minute sentencing hearing.
Misdemeanors are punished with a maximum sentence of one year in jail, though most people convicted of such crimes serve less — if any — jail time.
The sheriff was technically sentenced to serve a day in jail, but the judge credited him with time served for the day he turned himself in and underwent the booking process.
Mirkarimi, 50, still could face political repercussions. Mayor Ed Lee has said he’s considering whether to attempt removing the sheriff from office.
Under the agreement, Mirkarimi must pay $590 in fines, serve probation, spend a year in a domestic violence intervention program, take parenting classes and do community service.
The judge also left a stay-away order in place that keeps Mirkarimi away from his wife until further notice.
District Attorney George Gascon previously expressed concern that he was not convinced Mirkarimi really believed he is guilty of the crime.
Gascon told the San Francisco Chronicle‘s editorial board last week that statements Mirkarimi made to reporters about his mounting legal bills — $125,000 and counting — along with intense media coverage had been taking a toll on his family and was a considerable factor to take the plea deal.
Mirkarimi’s attorney, Lidia Stiglich, said her client has unconditionally accepted responsibility for the incident.
Prosecutors say Mirkarimi bruised the arm of Lopez, 36, during an argument in front of their toddler son at their San Francisco home on New Year’s Eve.
The next day, Lopez told her neighbor, Ivory Madision, who recorded a video in which Lopez, a former telenovela star, tearfully describes the alleged incident and a bruise on her right bicep.
Lopez’s lawyers argued to no avail that the video should be withdrawn as evidence because she thought Madison was a lawyer and it was made under the assumption of attorney-client privilege. Madison graduated from law school, but is not a licensed attorney.
Anti-domestic violence advocates are calling for Mayor Lee and the board of supervisors to remove Mirkarimi, a former supervisor, from office.
Related posts:
Views: 0
Posted in 
Tags: 
