San Francisco deputy sheriff charged with domestic violence, false imprisonment

SAN FRANCISCO - Prosecutors charged a San Francisco deputy sheriff on Monday with multiple felonies, including domestic violence, false imprisonment and stalking a former girlfriend.

Jonathan Espiritu, 49, pleaded not guilty to each charge and denied all allegations.  

District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said her office charged Espiritu with two counts of domestic violence, one count of assault likely to cause great bodily injury, two counts of false imprisonment, one count of stalking, one count of domestic battery, one count of dissuading a witness, one count of unlawful use of an electronic tracking device and one count of obstruction of use of wireless device to summon assistance.

In a statement, Jenkins thanked the woman for coming forward, and she promised that she would hold Espiritu accountable. 

The Sheriff's Department confirmed that Espiritu had been arrested and was being held at Marin County Jail. The spokesperson did not offer comment beyond that. 

According to court records, Espiritu and the woman had an on-and-off dating relationship which the woman tried to end when he became too possessive.

 The woman alleged that Espiritu tried to strangle her on Aug. 14 in her own home when she tried to end the relationship, attacked her at her work on Dec. 8,  slapped her in a car on March 7 and then threatened to kill himself if she reported him to law enforcement. 

Then on April 3, she decided to report the abuse when she found a tracking device on her car.

 San Francisco arrested Espiritu near where she was filing her report. 

Espiritu's next court date is April 19. The District Attorney’s Office moved to detain him pending trial because of the public safety risk he poses. The court granted the motion to detain without prejudice and set no bail at this time.