California Homeless Man Who Attacked SFFD Commissioner With Pipe Released From Jail

The California homeless man arrested earlier this month for assaulting former San Francisco Fire Department Commissioner Don Carmignani with a metal pipe was released from custody, according to ABC 7.

After Carmignani failed to appear for his scheduled testimony, the order was issued Thursday morning as required by law.

"We have not dismissed the charges in this case," San Francisco DA Brooke Jenkins said in a statement. A preliminary hearing has been moved to next month.

Garret Doty, 24, the homeless man suspected in an April 5 pipe attack on the former SFFD commissioner, is being freed under minimal monitoring and has been instructed to keep away from Carmignani and Magnolia.

The court had to return suspect Doty to the community without Carmignani's testimony on Thursday morning.

California Homeless Man Pipe Attack Was an Act of Self Defense

The public defender's office produced videos and material alleging the accused victim had used bear spray on a California homeless man eight previous times, raising questions and confusion about the case of the former SFFD commissioner who the homeless man savagely attacked.

Carmignani was beaten with a metal pipe by a homeless man, resulting in 51 stitches, a cracked skull, and a broken jaw, per Fox News.

A fight broke out after the former fire commissioner urged the homeless encampment to leave because they were pestering locals and taking drugs outside his mother's home.

After getting pepper sprayed, his public attorney claims he acted in self-defense. Security footage shows Carmignani approaching Doty before the two guys alter.

A bystander heard Carmignani tell police he would knife and kill Doty.

The public defender's office has requested that the accusations against Doty be dropped, citing Carmignani's history of inciting homeless people as the reason.

They claimed Carmignani fits the physical description of a man who attacked eight homeless men with bear or pepper spray beginning in November of 2021.

Joe Alioto Veronese, a friend of Carmignani's and a past candidate for San Francisco district attorney, defended him on Wednesday, saying that the public defender's office's accusations are unfounded.

"Don ended up spraying himself with it," Veronese said and claimed that in one of the videos, the former SFFD commissioner was seen covering his face with hands in a defensive position as the spray blinded him before he went running down the street and hit with the metal pipe at the back of his skull.

California Homeless Man Still Faces Charges Following Pipe Attack

Jenkins has stated that the homeless man accused of assaulting the former SFFD commissioner with a metal pipe will continue to face charges from her agency, KRON4 noted.

Doty was freed from jail but is currently being held on multiple accusations, including:

• Aggravated battery with serious bodily injury
• Assault with force likely to produce significant bodily injury
• Assault with a deadly weapon

The alleged victim, former SFFD Commissioner Don Carmignani, failed to attend court for a second day, and the California homeless man was freed from detention.

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Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Former SF fire commissioner attacked with pipe accused of violence against homeless people - From KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco