(BCN) — Nine people were charged Monday for alleged drug dealing in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood, prosecutors said.
The suspects, who were arraigned Friday, pleaded not guilty to their charges and allegations, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office said.
Five of them were alleged to have been arrested for drug dealing in the Tenderloin while released on their recognizance by the court in other felony narcotics cases. Of the five, four were detained while the court set $50,000 bail for the other. All remain in custody, prosecutors said.
All nine suspects are accused of selling drugs to undercover police.
“Open-air drug markets in the Tenderloin and SOMA pose grave public safety risks and all levels of government must work together to protect this community and the safety of the public,” District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in a statement.
The District Attorney’s Office said it moved to detain seven of the suspects pending trial because of the public safety risk they pose.
“The court granted the motions to detain without prejudice for six people and set bail for one individual. The court will hear further arguments at the time of the preliminary hearings in those cases,” prosecutors said.
The other two suspects were released by the court. One of them is under electronic monitoring and was given a 150-yard stay-away order from the corner of Ellis and Hyde streets, along with search conditions. The other has a 150-yard stay-away order from Eddy and Larkin streets.
The District Attorney’s Office said that in 2023, they were presented with and filed the most felony narcotics cases in five years, with 998 cases presented and 867 cases filed. Of these, 323 cases led to convictions or guilty pleas.
Copyright © 2024 Bay City News, Inc.
