Public defender: Only 2 charges remain for man shot by San Francisco police

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SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU) -- A judge has dismissed all but two charges against a man who was shot three months ago by San Francisco police at his Oceanview home and his public defender lawyer says those remaining charges should also be thrown out.

Judge Jeffrey Ross rejected eight out of 10 charges filed against Sean Moore in the Jan. 6 shooting, leaving him scheduled to go to trial Friday on just one count of misdemeanor violating a stay away order and felony battery causing serious injury.

The decision is the second time a judge has reduced the case filed by prosecutors against Moore, a 43-year-old mentally ill man who was shot around 4 a.m. at his home in the 500 block of Capitol Avenue after Officers Kenneth Cha and Colin Patino responded to a noise complaint made by a neighbor.

During a press conference Wednesday, Public Defender Jeff Adachi, said prosecutors should dismiss the remaining two charges against Moore.

In March, Judge Ethan Schulman also dismissed two counts of criminal threats against Moore following a three-day preliminary hearing.

Police were called to the residence over a complaint from a neighbor that Moore was striking a shared wall. The neighbor had previously been issued a restraining order against Moore.

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Moore allegedly kicked and punched the officers at various points during the confrontation, leaving one, Officer Colin Patino, with a broken nose that requires surgery. The officers in turn used pepper spray and batons before Officer Kenneth Cha opened fire.

Prosecutors have said previously that Moore, who has had multiple run-ins with neighbors and police over the years, posed a "serious public safety risk" and has a "pattern of conduct" of run-ins with police and alleged threats against neighbors.

Deputy Public Defender Brian Pearlman has said previously that Moore has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, and noted that Cha had spoken to the neighbor with the restraining order against Moore a month prior to the shooting.

Ross's decision came after Deputy Public Defender Brian Pearlman argued in court that officers had no legal grounds to remain on Moore's property after he told them to leave, and that when they approached him they were essentially trespassing.

"They're trying to punish a victim of a crime, a crime committed by the officers, for defending himself in his own home," Pearlman said Wednesday.

Adachi was critical of the investigation by police and the district attorney's office that led to charges being filed against Moore.

He said that the officers, who were inexperienced and lacked training in dealing with mentally ill subjects, acted illegally but were allowed to collude and file essentially identical statements about the incident after conferring with the same attorney and reviewing body-camera footage.

"If this is what reform looks like in the SFPD, we're in big trouble," Adachi said.

Moore has been through multiple surgeries since the shooting. He remains in custody, although Pearlman said he planned to argue for his release at a hearing on Friday.

Moore's mother, Cleo Moore, said she felt the officers had egged on her son and wanted to know if the police department would improve officer training to avoid shootings involving the mentally ill.

"They need to be trained," she said. "Perhaps out of some of this, for all the young men that have been shot and killed in this city, something good will come of this."

A district attorney's office spokesman said prosecutors are reviewing the case.

KTVU staff photographer Greg Grinsell and Bay City News contributed to this report.