(John Ransom, Headline USA) The man who authorities say is responsible for 27 separate attacks that targeted Asian Americans has been released from custody, raising questions about the safety of the community and who exactly is responsible for setting him free.
“There still needs to be an accountability mechanism, there needs to be a way to monitor, to be able to check and see what he’s doing and not just let him out,” former mayoral candidate Richie Greenberg told KPIX CBS 5.
“Derik Barreto is (allegedly) the man responsible for more than half of all reported hate crimes against the API community in San Francisco last year.” Barreto is out of custody, given mental health diversion by the judge. Aaron Persky, anyone? https://t.co/bt26YKRpXO
— Ed Unneland (@EUnneland) January 30, 2022
37-year-old Derik Barreto has been charged with 31 felony counts and 31 hate crimes in a string of attacks where victims were chosen because Barreto believed them to be Asian, said Newsweek.
Greenberg, who led a recall effort against the local DA, Chesa Boudin, one of the progressive prosecutors funded by billionaire oligarch George Soros, said that a California law known as Marsy’s Law, entitles victims to be assured that the victims won’t be harassed by a defendant, according to KPIX.
“Critics say the policies of Soros-funded DAs, which have included abolishing bail and, in the case of Chicago, placing hundreds of violent criminals on electronic tracking systems, have led to a spike in crime throughout the country,” wrote the New York Post.
That spike has been particularly bad for Asians in San Francisco, who have seen assaults against them skyrocket.
“In San Francisco and elsewhere, news reports showed video and photos of older Asian people robbed and knocked down, bruised and stabbed on public streets,” reported the Associated Press.
“Preliminary data shows that reported hate crimes against Asian Americans in San Francisco surged from 9 victims in 2020 to 60 in 2021,” the AP added.
When Barreto was charged, San Fran’s DA Boudin told city residents that his office would do whatever they could to protect the Asian community.
“Chinese-owned businesses should be able to operate without fear of being racially targeted by vandalism, burglary, or harassment,” said Boudin at the time, according to Newsweek.
“We stand with San Francisco’s AAPI community against hate and will do everything in our power to make sure everyone is and feels safe,” Boudin added.
Everything, in this case, apparently doesn’t included keeping an alleged criminal in jail.
