Hundreds of misdemeanor suspects in Alameda County, California, have walked free because prosecutors did not review their cases in time.
Representatives for District Attorney Pamela Price told the San Francisco Chronicle that there has been a backlog of cases since the embattled official, currently fighting a recall attempt, took office in January 2023.
They told the outlet that Price’s office has been struggling to keep up with the large number of cases passed on to them by the previous administration when Nancy O’Malley was in office, which she has denied.
Documents reviewed by the Chronicle showed that since early 2023, more than 1,000 misdemeanor criminal cases have exceeded the statute of limitations, causing them to expire without a prosecutor’s decision.
In Alameda County alone, more than 600 cases have expired.
Of the criminals who will now avoid punishment, one is a driver who crashed into three parked cars with a blood alcohol level of 0.22 percent, a man who tried to return about $800 in Home Depot merchandise he didn’t buy and a woman who was found in a stolen car with brass knuckles, according to the outlet.
Representatives for District Attorney Pamela Price told the San Francisco Chronicle that there has been a backlog of cases since the embattled official took office in January 2023.
In Alameda County alone, more than 600 cases have expired, according to data provided by the Chronicle. (pictured: streets of Oakland)
Suspects in the affected cases received a misdemeanor citation or were witnessed by police, who filed reports and sent them to the district attorney’s office for review.
After that, it’s up to prosecutors to determine whether offenders should be charged and why, but if officials don’t provide an answer for misdemeanor cases within a year, they expire.
Even though staff shared that more than 1,000 offenders will go free due to the monumental drop, Price’s office could not officially “confirm or deny” the numbers, “or provide its own,” the outlet reported.
Although the Chronicle could not confirm the statistics, the outlet reviewed about 12 reports from a list and found data that supported prosecutors’ claim.
The reports were filed by Emeryville police or the Oakland Police Department more than a year ago, while court records did not reveal cases filed against named suspects presented to the outlet.
Former employees who worked under Price revealed that cases began piling up right after she became district attorney.
The anonymous former employees said that when Price took his position, 360 cases had already been rejected after missing their deadlines, while an additional 646 cases are currently pending.
Of the 360 cases, 62 percent were filed by police officers after the start of last year, when Price was in office, sources said.
The crimes committed in the pending cases have passed the one-year mark and will likely be dismissed.
Even though staff shared that more than 1,000 offenders will go free due to the monumental drop, employees in Price’s office were unable to “confirm or deny” the numbers, “or provide their own.”
One of the affected cases involves two Alameda police officers who, if they showed up on time, would be charged with involuntary manslaughter for the tragic death of Mario González.
Gonzalez, 26, died on April 19, 2021 after three officers pinned him to the ground while responding to multiple police calls.
The two officers who will be charged have been released due to the delay, while the third officer remains charged, the Chronicle reported.
Although the agents were released, when Price took office, he proclaimed that he would reopen the case after O’Malley cleared the three of wrongdoing in 2022.
In response to Price’s office blaming Nancy O’Malley’s previous work, she said she informed Price from the beginning that she would be “available” to bring her up to date on pending cases.
Price previously said he would consider pressing charges against the officers and promised “accountability” for their misconduct.
The data provided by the Chronicle only represents police reports of misdemeanors handled by prosecutors at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland.
Under that court, there are 12 agencies, including the Albany Police Department and the Oakland Police Department.
The outlet clarified that the data does not include reports from smaller county courts or domestic violence cases.
Although many minor offenders often avoid jail time in the Bay Area, prosecutors often determine other consequences for individuals, including counseling, rehabilitative services and driving courses.
Melissa Dooher, who previously worked as a prosecutor in Alameda County, said that during her 23 years there, it was rare for a case to be dismissed because a decision was not discussed or made in time.
Despite that, he explained why this may have happened, citing “lack of staff” and lack of “bandwidth.”
Data provided by the Chronicle only represents police reports of misdemeanors handled by prosecutors at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland.
“But if it’s literally piling up, whether it’s an electronic or physical file, the only real reason it’s happening is lack of staff, and the current DA literally doesn’t have the time or bandwidth to handle it.” she said.
Dooher added that when cases began to pile up, prosecutors often met to address the problem.
Now that current cases are expiring, Dooher expressed concern for people who have been arrested for drunk driving.
‘If you have enough DUI convictions, it becomes a felony. And, of course, in the meantime, if you’re not treated, if you’re not punished, if you’re not on probation, you’re basically a danger to the community if you reoffend,” he told the Chronicle.
Acting Chief Prosecutor Evanthia Pappas, who joined Price’s team in June 2024, told the outlet that the district attorney “was not provided any type of road map or transition when she arrived.”
According to Pappas, after assuming his new position, Price immediately appointed an assistant district attorney to help review the large number of cases.
Acting Chief Prosecutor Evanthia Pappas, who joined Price’s team in June 2024, told the outlet that the district attorney “was not provided any type of road map or transition when she arrived.”
“As soon as he found out (about the backlog), he was addressing it, branch by branch, and he’s currently working on the backlog at Wiley Manuel,” Pappas said.
Meanwhile, anonymous former employees told the Chronicle that prosecutors at the Wiley W. Manuel courthouse also have not been able to keep up with all the cases, leaving about 3,000 untouched as of May.
In September, that number increased to 4,000, employees told the outlet. Pappas could not confirm these figures.
In response to Price’s office blaming O’Malley’s previous work, she said she informed Price from the beginning that she would be “available” to update her on outstanding, unreviewed police reports.
“I engaged a lot of staff whose only job was to look at those (cases) and they were assigned to (work with) different police departments,” O’Malley said.
‘We receive reports every two weeks from branch managers. And no one ever said, “By the way, we need more help because we can’t solve the cases.”
‘The first day the election results came out, I sent (Price) a letter and said, ‘This is a complicated office. We have a lot of programs, I will be there for you. Please bring your staff.’ so we can go over things.” They gave us an hour and that’s it,” he added.
DailyMail.com has contacted Price’s office for comment.
