London Breed said she believes "our criminal justice system is responsible" after a man awaiting trial for burglary charges allegedly stabbed a 94-year-old Asian woman in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood on Wednesday.
The San Francisco mayor called on District Attorney Chesa Boudin "to prosecute" and the city’s courts to "hold people accountable" after police arrested Daniel Cauich, 35, on charges of battery with serious injury, elder abuse, committing a felony while on bail or release and attempted homicide.
"I think it all plays a role," Breed told KGO on Wednesday night.
"Our police officers – if you look at the record of what's been happening in this city, in almost every case, they have made arrests. So, it's up to the District Attorney to prosecute. It's up to the courts to also hold people accountable, and something is missing here and a ball is getting dropped."
Court records obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle showed that, on June 7, a judge denied prosecutors’ request to hold Cauich in jail as he awaited trial for first-degree burglary, among other charges.
Cauich, his brother and another man were arrested in 2016 for the stabbing murder of a 55-year-old man in the Mission District. A judge dismissed Cauich’s case in 2019, according to court records obtained by the paper, after determining there wasn’t sufficient cause he was guilty.
Police arrested Cauich, his brother and another man in September following a series of robberies in North Beach. Cauich was released from jail in April after serving over 100 days in jail, a month after he was convicted of burglary charges in multiple cases.
Not long before Breed spoke, Boudin tweeted a two-part statement and said "we will work around the clock to support the victim and her family while also investigating this case with all of our resources."
Boudin said the victim is Chinese.
Police are investigating whether the attack was motivated by race.
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