Office of the Public Defender
City and County of San Francisco
Jeff Adachi
Public Defender
Teresa Caffese
Chief Attorney
Lea Villegas
Office of the Public Defender
November 7th, 2007
Preliminary Hearing To Be Held in Hit-and-Run Case Against Mentally Ill Man
San Francisco, CA – The preliminary hearing of Omeed Aziz Popal, 30, is set to begin at 9:00 a.m. on November 7, 2007, at the Hall of Justice, 850 Bryant Street, Dept. 20. Popal is facing attempted murder charges in connection with a series of alleged hit-and-run incidents that injured eighteen people in San Francisco on August 29, 2006.
Popal, who suffers from schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and auditory command hallucinations, has been receiving psychiatric treatment in jail since his arrest last year. Within six months prior to his arrest, Popal suffered two psychiatric breakdowns resulting in hospitalization and involuntarily commitments.
“The Popal family extends its deepest sympathy to all the innocent people who were hurt,” says Popal’s lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Sandy Feinland. “Unfortunately, this is a tragedy that could have been avoided. We all need to be better educated about mental illness, how to spot the warning signs, and how to get afflicted people the help they need.”
The mission of the Public Defender’s office is to provide vigorous, effective, competent and ethical legal representation to persons who are accused of crime and cannot afford to hire an attorney. Established in 1921, the San Francisco Public Defender has a long, proud history of providing top-notch representation to its clients, and championing programs that help people turn their lives around.
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