SAN FRANCISCO — The 17-year-old charged with attempted murder, attempted second-degree robbery and assault with a semiautomatic firearm in the shooting of 49ers receiver Ricky Pearsall made his first court appearance Wednesday in a crowded room at the Juvenile Justice Center in San Francisco.
Judge Roger Chan ruled that the teenager, whose identity was hidden because of his age, will remain in detention as the case awaits resolution. The next hearing will take place Sept. 10 and a potential trial must begin, by law, within 15 days of Wednesday.
The teenager sat to the right of Robert Dunlap, the San Francisco public defender assigned to represent him. He faced forward, looking toward the judge the entire time, and did not turn around to face the crowded room.
“He’s very sorry, genuinely, that this did happen, as is his family,” Dunlap said. “I can say on their behalf as well as on my own behalf that our thoughts go out to the Pearsall family and Mr. Pearsall himself.”
Upon announcing charges Tuesday, San Francisco district attorney Brooke Jenkins said her office is still weighing whether it will seek to try the teenager as an adult, a move that would necessitate a fitness hearing.
“I’m certainly hoping that they don’t do that,” Dunlap said. “I think my client certainly should be treated as a juvenile. He is a juvenile. It’s very rare for a transfer to occur. This is an obviously serious case, a shooting. But in the normal course of events, this would not warrant a transfer and I hope it doesn’t in this case.”
During the hearing, a San Francisco probation official recommended that the teenager, who is from Tracy, Calif., ultimately be transferred to San Joaquin County, where he has another “pending matter” in the legal system.
Dunlap clarified after Wednesday’s hearing that a transfer to San Joaquin County would occur only after the case involving Pearsall is adjudicated.
Many cases involving juveniles are closed to the public, and Dunlap acknowledged he tried to have the media excluded from Wednesday’s proceeding.
“But because of the nature of the charges, the law is pretty clear that certain offenses are open to the public and this is one of them,” Dunlap said.
Dunlap said he’s still gathering information on the case. He said he thought video footage from the incident, which occurred near Union Square, “will shed a lot of light” on important details.
Dunlap added that the teenager was shot in the left arm during the incident, but that his bullet injury — like Pearsall’s — was a “through and through” that did not do major damage.
“Thankfully, in both cases, they’re doing very well,” Dunlap said. “It’s a bandage, but (the bullet) didn’t break a bone.”
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The alleged robbery attempt and shooting occurred Saturday afternoon. San Francisco Police Chief William Scott said Saturday that Pearsall was walking alone when the suspect allegedly approached him. Both Pearsall and the suspect were shot during the struggle, police said.
The teenager’s parents attended Wednesday’s hearing and sat in the front row. Chan indicated that relatives of Pearsall were also in attendance, although it wasn’t clear if those related to the 49ers receiver were physically present or connected to the hearing via Zoom.
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(Photo of Ricky Pearsall: Thearon W. Henderson / Getty)
