A San Francisco vagrant caught on video cracking the skull of a former city fire commissioner with a crowbar was set free Thursday after the victim again failed to show up in court.
Garrett Doty, 24, could now have the assault charges against him dropped next month if ex-commissioner Don Carmignani continues to dodge a court hearing over the April 5 scuffle in the Golden City, prosecutors said.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in a statement Thursday that her office was granted a delay until May 23 to hold the hearing, adding that Carmignani’s testimony “is necessary for us to prove these charges.”
Carmignani has been a reluctant victim in the case, refusing to give cops a statement after the incident and failing to show up in court on at least two occasions, according to reports.
The Post revealed this week that prosecutors were quietly trying to drop the charges against Doty — prompting the DA to do an about-face Wednesday and say they were still pursuing the case after all.
Carmignani, 53, admitted that he approached Doty after he said police ignored his mother’s 911 calls about transients doing drugs and harassing locals outside her home.
Video of the incident shows the ex-fire commissioner walking up to Doty and pulling something from his pocket, prompting Doty to back away and cover his face with his hood.
Doty’s public defender claims Carmignani pepper-sprayed her client, who is seen in the footage grabbing a crowbar and going after Carmignani, smashing him and leaving him bloodied.
Police charged Doty with assault — starting the legal roller coaster that continues to linger.
Meanwhile, Doty’s lawyer, Kleigh Hathaway, said she believes Carmignani may have aggressively confronted more than a half-dozen homeless residents in the city — and is afraid to be questioned about it.
“It’s not separate,” Hathaway told reporters outside the courtroom Thursday, CBS News reported.
“This case, my case, unless Mr. Carmignani is credible and believable they don’t have a prosecution,” Hathaway said. “So, it’s my duty to figure out if Mr. Carmignani actually has a real pattern of doing this.”
She added Carmignani is likely reluctant to testify because she could then grill him about the other incidents.
“Hopefully, either we have a dismissal at that time because Mr. Carmignani is never gonna come in and never gonna give a statement, or we proceed with a preliminary hearing and I get the opportunity to cross-examine him.”
