San Francisco Drops Charges Against Homeless Man Accused of Attacking Ex-Official.

The attorney representing Garret Doty, the man accused of beating former San Francisco fire commissioner Don Carmignani with a metal pipe, accused Carmignani of “terrorizing” homeless people near his Marina district residence with bear mace. The public defender dropped the bombshell allegation during Doty’s scheduled preliminary hearing Wednesday. Doty faces a raft of charges, including assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated battery with serious bodily injury, for a violent altercation on April 5 that left Carmignani with a broken skull and jaw, requiring emergency surgery and 51 stitches.