Hundreds of misdemeanor suspects in Alameda County, California were dismissed because prosecutors failed to resolve 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 official's attack, fighting an attempt to recall he took office in January 2023.
They told the website that Price's office was struggling to keep up with the pile of cases handed to them by the previous administration when Nancy O'Malley was in office, which she denies.
The documents seen by the Chronicle show that since the beginning of 2023, over 1,000 criminal cases involving misdemeanors have become time-barred, which led to their expiration without a prosecutor's resolution.
In Alameda County alone, more than 600 cases have expired.
Among the criminals who will now escape punishment are a driver who crashed into three parked cars with a blood alcohol content of 0.22%, a man who tried to return approximately $800 worth of Home Depot merchandise that he had not purchased, and a woman who, according to the website, was found in a stolen car with brass knuckles.
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.
Data reported by the Chronicle shows that in Alameda County alone, more than 600 cases have expired. (pictured: streets in Oakland)
The suspects in the cases in question were either issued misdemeanor citations or confirmed by police who filed reports and sent them to the district attorney's office for review.
Prosecutors will then decide whether and for what the criminals should be charged, but if officials fail to respond to misdemeanor cases within a year, those penalties expire.
Although staffers assured that more than 1,000 criminals would go free in the monumental collapse, Price's office could not officially “confirm or deny” the numbers or “provide its own,” the magazine reported.
While the Chronicle was unable to confirm these statistics, the newsroom searched approximately 12 reports from the list, finding data that corroborated prosecutors' claims.
The reports were filed by either Emeryville police or the Oakland Police Department more than a year ago, while court records did not reveal cases filed against the named suspects and presented to the facility.
Former employees working under Price revealed that the caseload began to pile up right after she became district attorney.
Unnamed former employees said that when Price took up her position, 360 cases had already been dismissed for missing deadlines, and another 646 cases were currently pending.
Sources say that of the 360 cases, 62 percent were filed by police officers after Price was in office last year.
The crimes committed in the pending cases are more than a year old and will likely be dismissed.
Although staff assured that more than 1,000 criminals would go free after the monumental collapse, Price's office staff were unable to “confirm or deny” those numbers, “or provide their own.”
One of the cases involves two Alameda police officers who, if reported in time, will be charged with manslaughter in the tragic death of Mario Gonzalez.
Gonzalez, 26, died on April 19, 2021, after three officers pinned him to the ground while responding to multiple police calls.
The Chronicle reports that two of the officers expected to face charges were fired due to arrears, while a third officer still faces charges.
Despite firing the officers when Price took office, she said she would reopen the case when O'Malley clears all three of the charges in 2022.
In response to Price's office blaming Nancy O'Malley's previous work, she stated that she had informed Price in advance that she would be “available” to help keep her informed quickly about pending cases
Price previously said she would consider charging the officers and vowed to be “held accountable” for their misconduct.
The data provided by the Chronicle only includes police reports of misdemeanors handled by prosecutors at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland.
There are 12 agencies within this court, including the Albany Police Department and the Oakland Police Department.
The outlet clarified that the data does not include reports from smaller district courts or domestic violence cases.
Although many misdemeanor offenders often avoid jail time in the Bay Area, prosecutors typically impose other consequences for people, including counseling, rehabilitation services and driving lessons.
Melissa Dooher, who previously worked as a prosecutor in Alameda County, said that in her 23 years on the job, there have been rare cases where a case was dismissed for lack of discussion or a timely decision.
Still, she explained why this might have happened, citing “understaffing” and a lack of “bandwidth.”
The data provided by the Chronicle includes only misdemeanor police reports handled by prosecutors at the Wiley W. Manuel Courthouse in Oakland
“But if something is literally sitting on the pile, whether it's an electronic file or a physical file, the only real reason for that is staffing shortages, and the current DA just literally doesn't have the time and bandwidth to deal with it.” . she said.
Dooher added that when cases began to pile up, prosecutors often met to resolve the issue.
Now that the current cases have expired, Dooher expressed her concern about the situation with people arrested for driving under the influence.
“If you have enough DUI convictions, it becomes a felony. And in the meantime, of course, if you don't get treatment, if you go unpunished, if you don't get probation, if you reoffend, you're basically a danger to the community,” she told the Chronicle. .
Interim chief prosecutors Evanthia Pappas, who joined Price's team in June 2024, told the website that the district attorney “was not provided with any action plan or transition plan when she took office.”
According to Pappas, upon assuming her new position, Price immediately appointed an assistant district attorney to help handle a number of cases.
Interim chief prosecutors Evanthia Pappas, who joined Price's team in June 2024, told the website that the district attorney “was not provided with any action plan or transition plan when she took office.”
“As soon as she found out (about the backlog), she took it unit by unit and is currently working through the backlog at Wiley Manuel,” Pappas said.
Meanwhile, unnamed former employees told the Chronicle that prosecutors at the Wiley W. Manuel courthouse also were unable to keep up with all the cases, leaving about 3,000 cases unchanged as of May.
By September, that number had risen to 4,000, according to facility officials. Pappas could not confirm those numbers.
In response to Price's office blaming O'Malley's previous work, she stated that she had informed Price in advance that she would be “available” to inform her of pending, unreviewed police reports.
“I hired a number of employees whose sole job was to look into these (cases) and they were assigned to different police departments (to work with them),” O'Malley said.
“We receive reports from branch directors every two weeks. And not one person said, “By the way, we need extra help because we can't get through things.”
“The first day after the election results were announced, I sent (Price) a letter and said, 'This is a complicated office. We have many programs, I will be at your disposal. Please bring your employees so we can discuss matters.” They gave us an hour and that's it,” she added.
DailyMail.com has contacted Price's office for comment.
