Man who attacked female FBI employee is ‘restored to competency’ and returning to SF
Akal Allen, whose 2023 attack on a female FBI employee near her office exemplified San Francisco’s epidemic of street violence, is heading back to the city after being ‘restored to competence’ by doctors at a prison medical center in Massachusetts.
Criminal proceedings against Allen were stayed in March this year when U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria found he was not competent to stand trial and ordered that he be sent to a facility for assessment and treatment.
A report filed this week with the court said that Allen has since been prescribed anti-psychotic medication by staff at FMC Devens.
He now “is scheduled to arrive in San Francisco on or about December 20”.
Reflecting the judge’s limited confidence that U.S. Marshals will ensure Allen takes his medication while in transit, or that Alameda County jail officials will do so when he arrives in the Bay Area, Chhabria insisted that special arrangements be made for him.
Allen will be housed in San Francisco County Jail on his return, rather than Santa Rita Jail in Dublin, where the vast majority of federal detainees are held, based on its perceived better reputation for administering drugs to inmates.
Federal prosecutors have told the judge that they have coordinated with the U.S. Marshals Justice Prisoner and Alien Transport System to ensure Allen is properly medicated in transit.
Allen faces a charge of ‘felony assault on a federal employee’ arising from the June 8 2023 incident. He approached the woman and “without provocation” punched her in the face, breaking her nose. He struck her one more time before fleeing. He later attacked others.
The victim worked in the FBI’s counter terrorism branch as a crisis management specialist. Earlier proceedings centered on a defense question as to whether, as she had left work for the day, the victim was a federal employee performing official duties. If not, they said, then there was no proper basis for a federal charge. For their part, prosecutors maintained that the victim was ‘on call’.
Judge Chhabria said that the issue was for the jury to decide.
Allen, whose rap sheet runs to more than 100 pages, has attacked and abused San Franciscans for years. An examination of court records revealed a catalog of leniency shown to him by judges in the city and around the Bay Area.
The case continues.
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