Judge frees SF carjacker, carjacker asks to stay in jail for 3 more weeks

May 3rd, 2023 at 12:45 PMMay 3, 2023

A Richmond-district carjacker, who pointed a gun at a driver’s face and told him to “get the **** out of the car,” was ordered released in Superior Court today – only for the defendant himself to request a three week delay before getting out to try to prevent other jurisdictions from detaining him at the jail door.

Khalid Kenjoni (aka Rahim Kenjoni dob 6/6/79) was arrested on December 18, 2022 after getting into the passenger seat of a car parked at California and 23^rd, pointing a gun at the driver, telling him to “get the **** out of the car”, and stealing the vehicle. Kenjoni was later found in the car in SOMA.

This morning Judge Charles Crompton told Kenjoni that he was releasing him on OR/ACM [Own Recognizance / Assertive Case Management] and ordered him to appear in court again on May 11^th.

Noting that he had “non-citable county warrants” the judge informed Kenjoni that this meant that law enforcement agencies from those other jurisdictions might “come and get you” on his release.

This prompted Kenjoni, via his newly-appointed public defender, to invite the court to delay his release to allow him time to try to resolve those matters before being freed. Judge Crompton agreed and ordered Kenjoni to appear again on May 24. Kenjoni’s record shows previous arrests in Alameda County.

The defendant was appearing in Department 15 (‘Mental Health Court’) as part of a Mental Health Diversion program “which allows individuals with diagnosed mental health disorders to participate in a mental health program for up to two years in lieu of criminal prosecution.”

On March 10, 2023 it appeared to Superior Court Judge Alexandra Robert Gordon that Kenjoni was “diagnostically appropriate” for mental health diversion. She then sent his case to be heard in Department 15.

The crime was originally mentioned in the SFPD RIchmond Station newsletter, with Kenjoni identified only as “the suspect”. His identity was produced by the police in response to a Public Records Act request, allowing the case to be tracked in court.