Man Accused in Attack on Lesbian Held for Trial

A San Francisco man accused of trying to kill a lesbian by attacking her with a liquor bottle is headed for trial after a judge this week held him to answer on several charges.

Tanrence Joe Owens, 31, has been charged with attempted murder and other counts after he allegedly struck Eraina "Ray Ray" Jones, who was 25 at the time, with a large glass bottle, leaving her hospitalized for weeks with cuts to her neck and face.

After a preliminary hearing Monday, October 19, Superior Court Judge Brendan Conroy ordered Owens to stand trial on felony charges of attempted murder and other counts but dismissed an aggravated mayhem charge. Conroy also found allegations related to inflicting great bodily injury to be true.

During her testimony Monday, Jones frequently struggled to remember what had happened during the September 26, 2014 incident, taking long pauses, reviewing things she'd previously said to officials, and offering different details as attorneys questioned her. She acknowledged that what people have told her since the incident has been mixed in with her own memories of what happened.

Jones, who had dated Owens' son's mother, recalled how she and Owens had both been staying at an apartment on Dakota Street, in the Potrero Hill neighborhood, the morning of the incident.

She indicated that at one point, Owens had been outside, and returned "banging on the door" before someone let him back in.

"I got up to get something to drink," Jones said. "At that point, it just went blank. It felt like something hit me." She said she then remembered bleeding and waking up in an ambulance.

As her testimony continued, though, she said that Owens had hit her with the bottle, which eventually broke, three times in a dispute over "two or three dollars." She added that she'd gone to people trying to get help.

San Francisco police Officer Matthew Reiter testified Monday that a witness reported that Owens had come to the apartment, poured water on Jones "to wake her up," asked her about money, then poured more water on her after she went back to sleep.

Once Jones got up, Owens told her he was giving her seven seconds to leave, Reiter said the witness told police. Jones pushed Owens, and he hit her once with the bottle, which "shattered everywhere," Reiter said.

After Monday's testimony, Deputy Public Defender Alex Lilien told Conroy that he didn't think "this was anything other than some type of explosive attack with a bottle."

"Nothing here shows a specific intent to kill other than the fact there was a serious injury that results from what I believe is one hit with the bottle," Lilien added. "... I'm not seeing a deliberate, pre-meditated desire to kill here."

Conroy indicated he was holding Owens based on the alleged countdown, among other factors.

Asked outside the courtroom whether she thought Owens had been trying to kill her, Jones said, "I don't know ... that's for you to ask him."

At the beginning of Monday's hearing, Conroy praised Owens for his efforts in programming that includes parenting skills.

He told Owens, who's been in custody on $350,000 bail since shortly after the incident, "You've been doing very, very well. ... In the programs you're involved in, you could not be doing better."

Owens' next court date is November 2 for arraignment. Assistant District Attorney Austin Sanford is prosecuting the case.