Tony Phillips, the man Mayor Daniel Lurie and his bodyguards confronted in the Tenderloin earlier this year, was released from jail — again.
Phillips appeared in court at the Hall of Justice Thursday for a criminal case stemming from the March 5 incident, in which the mayor and his retinue confronted a group of people, including Phillips, on Cedar Street, an alley between Van Ness Avenue and Larkin Street. A physical altercation broke out, resulting in Phillips being charged with two felonies: resisting and assaulting a police officer.
Phillips, who has argued the confrontation could’ve been avoided if Mayor Lurie had stayed in his car, also faces misdemeanor counts. Phillips was in court Thursday to reschedule a preliminary hearing, now set for June 2. His lawyer, Ivan Rodriguez, also argued for his client’s release from jail.
Rodriguez told Judge Kenneth Wine that Phillips was being held in custody based on a terminated “stay away” order requiring him to steer clear of Cedar Street, where he previously lived in a tent. A number of such orders have been issued for Phillips in the past. He previously won release from custody on March 11, and was arrested three days later for violating one of them.
Wine concluded that he couldn’t legally keep Phillips in jail, and he ordered him released under electronic monitoring.
Phillips appeared in court in the required county jail outfit: sweatshirt, sweatpants, and rubber slippers, all orange. He appeared despondent, and was staring at the table in front of him as lawyers and the judge pushed his court dates down the road to June.
As the discussion turned to his release, Phillips became more engaged. Rodriguez and Judge Wine discussed the bleak prospects for finding Phillips housing. Rodriguez has requested shelter without drug treatment programs for his client.
“Is he sleeping outside on a street corner, is that what we’re saying?” Wine asked. “The idea of having you back on the street is not something that I like at all,” the judge told Phillips. “I don’t know that I have much choice.”
Wine told Phillips that a stay-away order prohibiting him from Cedar Street and Polk Street is still in effect. “You don’t want to go within 150 yards of that,” he said. “That may include Larkin and Cedar.”
As the judge spoke, Phillips eagerly signed the papers authorizing his release. He is scheduled to be out of jail Friday morning.
