SAN FRANCISCO—Troy Ramon McAlister, the suspect charged with a deadly hit and run incident, plead not guilty in court Tuesday, January 5.
The San Francisco DA filed various charges against McAlister like vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence causing great bodily injury, leaving the scene of a collision, driving a stolen vehicle, burglary, transportation of a controlled substance, vandalism, and a misdemeanor of receiving stolen property.
“Tragically, two lives were lost in our midst on New Year’s Eve. Our hearts go out to the families of Hanako Abe and Elizabeth Platt,” McAlister’s attorney, Public Defender Mano Raju, said in a statement.
“We have learned from decades of failed ‘tough on crime’ rhetoric and policies that focusing primarily on whether the system could have incarcerated someone longer, more often, or more severely is how we find ourselves in the current scenario. We cannot let opponents of a more fair and just criminal legal system exploit this loss-of-life to convince others that the system we’ve long relied upon is the best we can do,” Raju added.
On December 31, McAlister allegedly stole a grey Honda that had a gun inside and he was allegedly drinking alcohol at the same time.
On Second and Mission streets, Elizabeth Platt, 60, and Hanako Abe, 27, was using a crosswalk when McAlister allegedly blew a stoplight and ran over the two women with the vehicle he was driving.
Authorities say that McAlister, 45, stole the Honda two days prior to the hit and run incident in Daly City.
In addition to drinking alcohol, McAlister allegedly was under the influence of methamphetamine when he hit the two women with the vehicle he was driving.
Once he committed the hit and run, authorities say that witnesses saw McAlister fleeing the vehicle on foot. The DA’s Office said in a press release that once the authorities looked inside the stolen vehicle, they found one semiautomatic handgun with an extended high-capacity magazine and 23 grams of methamphetamine.
“Both the stolen car and the gun are believed to be related to an incident just two days prior; on December 29, the owner of the stolen car identified Mr. McAlister to Daly City Police Department,” said the DA’s Office.
McAlister was released on parole in April of 2020 from state prison for robbery. Back when that happened, current DA Chesa Boudin was a public defender and allegedly defended McAlister in the robbery that occurred in 2015.
“I also want to make clear that Chesa Boudin never represented Troy McAlister,” Raju explained in the statement. “Some are misinterpreting court minutes that show Mr. Boudin as ‘special[ly] . . . appearing for the attorney of record’ on a ‘motion to continue,’ but this was strictly an administrative appearance that lawyers routinely make when a colleague is unavailable on an uncontested matter,” Raju indicated.
Raju said that McAlister’s attorney was involved in another case and “she filed the motion to continue as a result. It is common for attorneys to make ‘stand-in’ appearances on behalf of an unavailable colleague.”
Raju said in the statement that DA Boudin was the “’stand-in’ on an uncontested postponement of the case to a new date. He would not have had any confidential information nor presented any arguments on Mr. McAlister’s behalf.”
According to jail records, McAlister is being held without bond and his next court appearance is January 20 at 9:00 a.m.
