Public Defender client was the only person facing felony charges
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Nov. 10, 2025
MEDIA CONTACT: PDR-MediaRelations@fsgov.org
**PRESS RELEASE**
SAN FRANCISCO — A San Francisco jury has acquitted 29-year-old Wyatt Johnson, who was arrested in a multi-agency law enforcement raid—including federal Drug Enforcement Agency and National Guard participation—at Jefferson Park on Feb. 26 of this year. Johnson, who has had a substance use disorder for years, was found with drugs and subsequently charged with felony possession of drugs with the intent to sell. At trial, he testified about his struggles with homelessness and addiction and how he has never engaged in drug sales. An expert on drug dependence also testified at trial that drug tolerances, much like alcohol tolerances, vary by person, and that the amount Johnson possessed could have reasonably been for his personal use. The jury unanimously acquitted him of all charges on Oct. 22. The prosecution opposed all pre-trial release motions, and as a result, Johnson was in custody for eight months despite posing no public safety risk.
“Mr. Johnson has been struggling with addiction since he was 14 years old,” said his attorney, Deputy Public Defender Sylvia Nguyen. “His day-to-day life revolved around making sure he did enough to just stay well. There’s a misperception that people only use drugs to get high, but when a person is gravely addicted, they need to maintain their habit just to feel normal and, most importantly, to avoid excruciating withdrawals. The drug crisis in San Francisco is absolutely troubling, but not all people who use are sellers. What became clear through police body-worn camera footage is that raids like these—where officers are pushing people, cursing at them, and rounding them up like cattle—are dehumanizing and ineffective.”
Police body-worn camera footage from the raid (which can be viewed here) shows officers yelling at people who are standing on a sidewalk near the park, and pushing them toward it. There, they force people to sit on a curb with their hands zip-tied behind their backs. One officer yells at a woman, “Grab your s—, let’s go” and tells another man, “Stand the f— up. You ain’t running things around here,” and “No one cares,” when he objects to his mistreatment. This clip contrasts sharply to the SFPD’s sanitized video of the raid, which portrays it as a calm operation where officers treated people courteously.
Johnson was one of nearly 90 people arrested in the raid, the vast majority of whom were charged with misdemeanor “loitering to commit a controlled substance offense.” Police alleged that Johnson was fleeing the park, but body-worn camera footage showed that he was outside the park riding a scooter towards police when he was arrested. Johnson was the only person charged with possessing drugs with the intent to sell. With the help of Nguyen, Johnson is now receiving services through an organization called Micah’s Hugs in Sonoma County.
“Mr. Wyatt’s team did an excellent job defending him and exposing the flaws in the prosecution’s case. The defense also shed light on stereotypes about people who suffer from substance use disorders,” said elected San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju. “Jails are not the appropriate place to provide treatment, and studies have shown that jailing people for having substance use disorder increases the risk of overdosing upon release. Many people who are users initially get mislabeled as sellers based on biased and inaccurate interpretations of evidence. Fortunately, the jury carefully weighed the evidence and came to the right verdict. In addition to vigorously defending clients like Mr. Johnson in court, our office also connects our clients who have substance use disorders with treatment in a way that facilitates their progress and improved community health.”
The defense team for Mr. Johnson was led by Deputy Public Defender Sylvia Nguyen and included Paralegal Luana Lima and Senior Public Defender Investigator Tim Kingston.
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