The man accused of plowing a stolen car through a red light in downtown San Francisco, killing two pedestrians while driving under the influence on New Year's Eve, faced a possible life sentence two years ago under California's "three strikes" law for repeat offenders.
But the San Francisco Chronicle reported those strikes against Troy McAlister were dropped last March after prosecutors negotiated a plea deal under District Attorney Chesa Boudin.
In late 2018, McAlister was headed to trial on two counts of second degree robbery for a 2015 holdup at a store in San Francisco. Under George Gascon, the DA’s office had alleged three prior strikes for violent crimes and a conviction could have put him away for life.
But two months after Boudin took office, McAlister’s lawyers were able to get the strikes dismissed. McAlister was given credit for five years served and released. He then went on to be arrested several more times in the city on suspicion of crimes including car theft and burglary in the months leading up to the New Year's Day incident.
He was not charged with any new crimes associated with those arrests.
Instead, those incidents were referred by Boudin's office to state parole officers.
McAlister was charged Monday with two counts of manslaughter and other assorted crimes in connection with the crash, which killed Elizabeth Platt, 60, and Hanako Abe, 27. Boudin also alleged one strike in the case after it apparently met the 'extraordinary circumstances' required for the DA's office to charge a prior strike in accordance with California's three strikes law.
Boudin said police and his office could have done things differently and possibly avoided the "terrible outcome," promising to strengthen communication between his office and parole officers and conduct a review of the case.
But the San Francisco Police Officer’s Association alleged Boudin had a conflict of interest and is calling for an independent oversight panel to review this case and others. In a statement, the union said Boudin may have represented McAlister in the 2015 robbery case during his time as a public defender and is calling for a review of all active cases being handled by former public defenders who now work in the DA’s office.
KPIX-5 reported that Boudin was listed on the docket as the public defender during a 2018 preliminary hearing for McAlister.
Alex Bastian, Assistant District Attorney, told the station: "District Attorney Boudin was not the public defender assigned to this particular defendant. It appears that he stood in on the case once in order to continue the matter for one of his colleagues."
SFPOA President Tony Montoya blasted Boudin, saying "two people were killed in New Year’s Eve because Chesa Boudin refused to do his job."
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