Justice delayed: Family of slain SF State student awaits alleged killer's trial for 9 years

SAN FRANCISCO - Jessica Labidi’s younger brother was fatally shot by a stranger as he got off a San Francisco Muni train almost 10 years ago.

The seemingly random violence stunned the San Francisco State University community where 20-year-old Justin Valdez attended college. And the swift capture and charges against Nikhom Thephakaysone brought some relief to Valdez’s friendly and family. 

But nine years later, Thephakaysone has still not been brought to trial, leaving Valdez’s loved one’s in emotional limbo.

"It’s horrible. It’s heartbreaking, and it’s something you never really recover from," Libidi told KTVU. "I never thought that this would be dragged out this long, and honestly it’s unacceptable."

But cases like Valdez’s are hardly unique in San Francisco where violent crime cases routinely drag on for years. Records show the city is among they slowest to adjudicate cases in the state.

San Francisco’s newly appointed district attorney Brooke Jenkins said she’s well aware of the problem and pledged to make resolving long-delayed cases a priority in her administration. 

"We should be prepared to go to trial, most certainly in these older cases and be objecting to any continuances by the defense where we can because these victims deserve and need closure," Jenkins said in a recent interview with KTVU.

The case against Thephakaysone began on Sept. 23, 2013. 

It was just weeks after Valdez’s 20th birthday, and he was taking the M-Ocean View light rail train home from water polo practice at SF State to his home near Randolph and Bright Streets. 

Valdez’s and other riders were apparently unaware as security video captured a man flashing a gun on the train. When Valdez got off, Thephakaysone allegedly followed him off and shot him in the back.

"He just targeted my brother and shot him and continued on his way basically," Libidi said. 

San Francisco Police arrested Thephakaysone the next day at his Oceanview home with a cache of weapons, including firearms, knives and survival gear. Authorities described him picking out Valdez at random as the suspect went "out hunting."

The overwhelming evidence against Thephakaysone, including video of him on the train, likely impact his reluctance to go to trial. His public defender declined to comment on the case, citing a judge’s gag order. 

But delaying cases is a well-known strategy when the facts are bad for the defense. 

Defendants like Thephakaysone can waive their speedy trial rights and as time goes on, witnesses disappear and their memories fade while the defendant stays in city jail rather than going to state prison if convicted. 

According to the San Francisco Sheriff’s Department, 95 people in jail have been awaiting trial for more than three years and 51 of them have been held for more than 5 years. 

And in San Francisco, fewer than half of cases are adjudicated in under a year, according to a report by the Judicial Council of California.  That’s compared to 80% of cases that are complete within 12 months statewide.

Last year, KTVU profiled the moms of the victims of a quadruple homicide six years ago in the city’s Hayes Valley. The suspect in that case, Lee Farley Jr., still has not gone to trial.

"I am committed to making sure our lawyers are prepared and capable to go forward in these cases to trial," Jenkins said, pledging that her attorneys will not be seeking continuances in these long-delayed cases. 

But Jenkins has also pledged to be tougher on drug dealers and repeat offenders, meaning there will be more cases in the system than under the previous district attorney Chesa Boudin, whom voters recalled in June. 

"I do anticipate that we will have more narcotics cases set for trial -- as the defense tries to resist this new climate -- but that’s something we’re going to have to deal with," she said.

San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju said his attorneys will be vigorously defending those cases. He said he encourages attorneys to take cases to trial rather than settling, even in low-level misdemeanors, because they often get not guilty verdicts.

"I think that’s going to create even more of a delay," he said. "If we focus on these quality of life crimes it's going to make the backlog even larger."

Raju said the bigger issue is all the hundreds of cases they’ve invoked speedy trial rights on that haven’t been adjudicated due to COVID delays. 

Last year, he sued the superior court to try to force them to open more courtrooms.

"We don’t control what charges are filed against our clients. We don’t make the decision about whether they’re kept in custody. What we do control is the ability to demand a courtroom to vindicate our clients," Raju told KTVU.

Labidi meanwhile hopes her case will one day go to trail, so she can begin to move beyond the pain.

"I miss him. I love him. I wish he was still with us," she said. "I understand it was his time to go. It’s just hard."

Evan Sernoffsky is an investigative reporter for KTVU. Email Evan at evan.sernoffsky@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @EvanSernoffsky