What occurs after a homeless individual is arrested for tenting? Typically, not a lot

By Marisa KendallCalMatters

This story was initially printed by CalMatters. Enroll for his or her newsletters.

Wickey Two Fingers sat on the protection desk on a latest Thursday morning, holding in his lap the crimson baseball cap he’d doffed out of respect for the choose.

The 77-year-old homeless man was speculated to be the primary individual tried in court docket beneath an ordinance Fresno handed final 12 months making it against the law to camp in all public locations. Over the previous six months, he’d spent hours in a courtroom, arriving early for every listening to. He’d packed up and moved his campsite a number of instances, looking for out-of-the-way spots the place he may keep away from getting arrested once more.

However as an alternative of sending Two Fingers’ case earlier than a jury, the choose — on the day trial was supposed to start — dismissed all fees. The rationale? The town waited too lengthy to prosecute.

Two Fingers’ case shines a highlight on a contradiction seen across the state in latest months. California cities are passing ordinances left and proper that permit police to arrest or cite unhoused individuals for tenting on their streets and sidewalks, or of their parks. Police are making arrests. However in the case of prosecuting, attempting or sentencing individuals for violating these ordinances, some cities haven’t been capable of observe by means of. In lots of circumstances, prosecutors aren’t submitting fees. If persons are charged, their circumstances typically are dismissed shortly. Two Fingers’ case was a rarity for a way shut it got here to trial. However ultimately, it too was thrown out.

That has some questioning: what’s the purpose of arresting individuals in any respect?

Two Fingers’ case was set to be a bellwether to see if Fresno’s tenting ban — beneath which police have made a number of hundred arrests already — would maintain up earlier than a jury. The town and county — in addition to Two Fingers’ lawyer, activists and even native journalists — invested a substantial quantity of assets within the case earlier than it was finally dismissed final week and not using a trial or any public hearings on its deserves.

“They wasted a lot of time and money pursuing this case,” stated Ron Hochbaum, a regulation professor on the College of the Pacific who focuses on homelessness and poverty regulation. “When you think about all the people who were involved, from police to the city attorney’s office to judges and court clerks and so on. That’s probably hundreds of hours of work and thousands of dollars wasted. And that money would be better spent by simply offering Mr. Two Hands housing without arresting him.”

CalMatters analyzed the assets that went into prosecuting Two Fingers’ case:

At 8:40 a.m. on Oct. 14, 2024, two Fresno cops got here throughout Two Fingers and his belongings on the facet of the street and arrested him for tenting in a public place and illegally possessing a buying cart.

Over the following six months, Two Fingers attended 4 hearings in three totally different courtrooms. Earlier than every listening to, he dropped off his belongings at a pal’s home after which caught the bus to the downtown Fresno courthouse, generally arriving as a lot as an hour early so he did not miss something. After court docket, an advocate generally drove him again to his campsite. On April 10, the day his trial was supposed to start, he missed work to attend court docket, skipping his scheduled shift at a wrecking yard and with it, his likelihood to earn cash for meals and different requirements for the day.

Metropolis and county assets additionally went into every listening to. Public funds paid for the presence of a choose, a bailiff and employees from town legal professional’s workplace. The town introduced on exterior regulation agency Manning Kass to assist prosecute the case.

Kevin Little, a non-public legal professional who focuses on civil rights litigation, signed on to defend Two Fingers professional bono. Little estimates he spent between 100 and 150 hours on Two Fingers’ case. He had two extra employees members serving to him, and so they put in one other 50 to 100 hours. The week the case was speculated to go to trial, Little stated he spent a pair nights working in his workplace till 3 a.m.

“They wasted a lot of time and money pursuing this case.”

Ron Hochbaum, regulation professor, College of the Pacific

One other legal professional, Endurance Milrod, was additionally in court docket on April 10. She was there to symbolize Pablo Orihuela, a Fresnoland journalist who had been protecting Two Fingers’ case and obtained a subpoena to testify on behalf of the prosecution. Lawyer Karl Olson was standing by to contest a subpoena issued to Fresno Bee reporter Thaddeus Miller, in accordance to the Bee.

Along with Orihuela and Miller, journalists from CalMatters and ABC30 have been there to cowl the trial.

About two-dozen activists and area people members additionally confirmed up on the courthouse — some arriving as early as 7 a.m. regardless of work and childcare obligations — to help Two Fingers on the day his trial was set to begin. Activist Wes White drove two-and-a-half hours from Salinas to be there.

In any case that, Choose Brian Alvarez dismissed the case. He discovered that the trial ought to have began by March 6, and going previous that date would violate Two Fingers’ proper to a speedy trial. Two Fingers’ supporters filed out of the courtroom and stuffed the hallway, cheering, till a bailiff requested them to maintain it down.

“I’m really shocked by how much money and resources they put into this,” stated advocate Dez Martinez, who just lately helped Two Fingers get right into a shelter. “There was so much money used in this so they can make a point because they don’t want to lose a case. It just bothers me that they used that (many resources) and finances into punishing Wickey instead of doing what I did: sit down and talk to him, figure out why does he not want to go inside.”

The trial initially was set to begin Feb. 20, however the metropolis requested for a delay, which was granted by Choose Carlos Cabrera. Choose Alvarez appeared to disagree with that ruling.

The town blamed Two Fingers’ staff for the case getting thrown out. The protection’s subpoena request pressured town to assessment an in depth quantity of paperwork, which took further time, Deputy Metropolis Lawyer Daniel Cisneros advised the court docket. The town additionally had tried to forestall the case from going to trial by providing Two Fingers a plea deal, which it stated would include a shelter mattress. Two Fingers declined, as an alternative opting to attempt to clear his title by means of a trial.

“The City’s position is to continue to offer plea deals to defendants who accept housing and services offered by the City,” town legal professional’s workplace stated in an emailed assertion from Noemi Schwartz. “It is unfortunate that this defendant declined the services and housing offered by City at a congregate shelter at Travel Inn and will likely end up back on the streets without shelter and assistance.”

Fresno’s new tenting ordinance went into impact in September, making it a misdemeanor to take a seat, lie, sleep or camp in a public place. However most individuals arrested aren’t prosecuted, and even fewer come near a trial. Fresno police made 322 arrests beneath that ordinance from October 2024 by means of January 2025. Throughout that point, town legal professional’s workplace filed fees in simply 132 tenting circumstances. The defendant failed to indicate up in court docket in additional than half of the circumstances during which fees have been filed. Just one different case, along with Two Fingers’, was listed as headed towards trial.

It’s an analogous scenario in different cities, from the Bay Space to Southern California. Police in Los Angeles made 238 tenting arrests final 12 months, and town legal professional’s workplace declined to file fees in two-thirds of these circumstances. In San Francisco, practically 4 in 5 unlawful lodging arrests made since August 2024 haven’t resulted in fees, in line with the San Francisco Chronicle.

“Cities and district attorneys aren’t interested in prosecuting the cases because they know they don’t have enough room in jail and prisons to incarcerate everyone who is experiencing homelessness,” Hochbaum stated. And so they know slapping somebody with a positive received’t cease them from sleeping exterior, he stated.

As a substitute, he stated, many cities are utilizing the specter of arrest to drive unhoused individuals to maneuver once they need to clear an encampment.

In the intervening time, Two Fingers is sleeping inside after 5 years on the road. Martinez stated she bought him a 90-day keep at a city-run shelter — with no assist from town legal professional’s workplace.

“(It’s) a pretty good day in my life,” Two Fingers stated exterior the courthouse, after his case was dismissed. “77 seasons I’ve been here, you know, I think I deserve it.”

Whereas Two Fingers was hesitant to just accept a shelter mattress at first, Martinez stated after spending months speaking to him, attending to know him and exhibiting up at his facet to his court docket dates, she received his belief. She promised to maintain preventing to get Two Fingers into everlasting housing, signal him up for Social Safety, assist him entry well being care, and get him no matter else he wants.

“It’s not that he wants to stay outside,” Martinez stated. “He’s tired. He doesn’t want to die on the sidewalk. He didn’t want to be given something and have it be taken away.”

Fresno nonetheless has but to attempt anybody for sleeping exterior, however that might change. Little is representing one other unhoused man who was arrested for tenting — and plans on bringing that case to trial.

“I hope the message the city gets,” Little stated, “is leave the unhoused alone. Help them and don’t prosecute them. But if you are going to choose unfortunately to prosecute these cases, then you better come ready, because we’re not backing down.”

This text was initially printed on CalMatters and was republished beneath the Artistic Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.