That incident happened in 2020. But 40 hearings, motions, and conferences later, McAlister has yet to stand trial, according to The Voice of San Francisco.
In the latest delay, an Oct. 3 hearing originally intended to set a jury trial was instead used as another hearing on McAlister’s behalf: His public defender requested that, rather than face prosecution, McAlister be placed in a drug diversion program, the U.K.’s Daily Mail reported.
If Superior Court Judge Michael Begert approves, McAlister’s case would be transferred to San Francisco Drug Court, which focuses on treatment and therapy, rather than imprisonment, SFist reported.
“Research continuously shows that long-term structured treatment far, far improves public safety over simple incarceration,” Scott Grant, McAlister’s defense attorney, said according to KGO-TV in California.
But protesters outside the Oct. 3 hearing were fed up with the city’s weak-on-crime justice system.
“Troy McAlister has been charged with 91 felonies over the course of his multi-decades career here in San Francisco, and we don’t think that someone should be given infinite chances to ultimately correct course,” Scotty Jacobs, director of Blueprint for a Better San Francisco, said according to KTVU-TV in California.
It was Dec. 31, 2020, when McAlister allegedly struck Elizabeth Platt, 60, and Hanako Abe, 27, with a stolen car he was driving.
McAlister, who was on parole for robbery, was reportedly high on meth when he killed Platt and Abe.
He fled the scene on foot before police arrested and booked him for more than a dozen crimes, including manslaughter, driving a stolen vehicle, hit and run, and driving under the influence, according to The Voice of San Francisco.
He was also reportedly in possession of methamphetamines and an illegally owned firearm.
McAlister had a criminal history dating back years, with his most recent arrest happening 10 days before his hit and run, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Months before the incident, McAlister had already committed multiple parole violations, for which then-District Attorney Chesa Boudin did not seek punishment.
Following a 2015 robbery incident, and other violent felonies, McAlister at one point faced life in prison. But Boudin spared him from that punishment as well.
McAlister’s upcoming diversion hearing will take place Oct. 28.
“While there’s certain people who should be granted diversion and ultimately given the opportunity to rebuild their lives, Troy McAlister has demonstrated that despite being given that opportunity multiple times, he has continued to pose a threat to San Franciscans and we believe he needs to be in jail,” Jacobs added.
