SF DA Brooke Jenkins warns of ‘devastating’ court ruling

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins has warned a recent court ruling will allow scores of career criminals to walk free — with “devastating” consequences for public safety across California.

A decision from the California Supreme Court on April 30 found bail for accused criminals must be “attainable” and only those accused of violent crimes may be held in jail pending trial — a ruling with far-reaching consequences for prosecutors, Jenkins told The California Post in an interview.

Jenkins, who was first appointed to the position in 2022 and has taken a tough stance with drug dealers and petty thieves plaguing San Francisco in recent years, said the ruling will make it exceedingly difficult to keep accused criminals locked up — even if they’ve been arrested repeatedly or flouted court orders.

Only people accused of violent crimes — like murder and assault involving bodily harm — can be held on an “unattainable” bail or without bail, Jenkins explained.

That means accused repeat drug dealers, auto burglars, retail thieves, and even felons wielding guns will be freely released under the new legal precedent, according to Jenkins.

“Not only is this a devastating ruling for the DA’s office, but a devastating ruling for our state and for San Francisco,” Jenkins said.

The California Supreme Court case centered on Gerald John Kowalczyk, a Bay Area homeless man who bought a $7 cheeseburger using another person’s credit card.

A Superior Court judge set his bail at $75,000 and it was later revoked entirely after he was determined to be at high risk of reoffending.

Kowalczyk, who had 60 prior convictions and failed to comply with numerous court orders, spent six months in jail.

His attorneys argued the the detainment was unconstitutional because Kowalczyk hadn’t been convicted of a crime. He was also jobless and homeless so had no chance of making bail.

Courts can’t punish disproportionately punish defendants for being to poor too pay bail, civil rights advocates claimed in the successful court petition.

But Jenkins argued that the “ivory tower” logic clashes with reality.

San Francisco has struggled with rampant auto theft, open-air fentanyl sales and organized retail crime that is among the worst in the nation in recent years.

Images of shattered windows, locked-up Walgreens stores and massive drug markets made embarrassing headlines for the city.

Many of those crimes were driven by serial felons like Robert Sonza, a chronic offender who was arrested more than a dozen times between 2019 and 2025 for breaking into cars, shoplifting and weapons possession and other crimes.

Another prolific thief, Aziza Graves, was accused of stealing from a San Francisco Target store on 120 separate occasions, taking more than $60,000 in merch before she was convicted and released on supervision in 2024, per ABC7.

On Thursday, San Francisco police arrested and charged five individuals for stealing more than $43,000 in goods from Walgreens and Safeway. One suspect, Tyrese Boswell, lifted cosmetics and batteries from Walgreens 27 separate times in less than 6 months.

Drug dealing remains a serious problem, with police seizing 338.5 grams of narcotics and arresting 62 individuals, including 52 with outstanding warrants, in a drug bust just this week.

These types of offenders will walk free because they aren’t deemed a violent threat, Jenkins said.

“We have been able to detain prolific organized retail thieves, and now they will all be released,” Jenkins said.

Immediately after the April 30 Supreme Court ruling, San Francisco defense attorneys cited the decision in requesting the release of more than 90 offenders being held for drug dealing, theft and other crimes, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

One of them was a woman arrested repeatedly after a 2023 “crime spree” and allegations included robbery using scissors, multiple thefts and even a hammer attack.

She was released after the April 30 ruling with an electronic monitor, Jenkins said.

San Francisco police data shows that between 2024 and 2025, burglaries fell 26%; robberies were down 23%; larceny theft 22%; and motor vehicle theft down 44%.

While the use of technology such as cameras and drones have contributed to falling crime rates, Jenkins argues the threat of swift detention — even more so than a conviction — is a critical deterrent to crime.

That will no longer apply after the Supreme Court ruling, she said.

“We have demonstrated that swift detention and consequences has worked and now we’re going to reverse all of this,” she said.

“Devastating is the word I have to use.”

Jenkins said the judges appeared to ”live in ivory towers, ruling down on common people” rather than understanding what was going on in the wider community.

“Until we get a handle on what is going on with our court system with these judges,” she continued.

“We are going to continue to be the brunt of every joke and attack on Fox News, and rightfully so.”

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