Bail was lowered from $750,000 to $150,000 Wednesday for an Ohio man accused of pepper-spraying San Diego police during a heated protest downtown on Aug. 28.
Denzel Draughn, 28, pleaded not guilty to two felony counts of unlawful use of tear gas against a peace officer and 11 felony counts of use of force against a peace officer. If convicted, he faces a sentence ranging from probation to 11 years in jail.
During Tuesday's hearing, Superior Court Judge Francis Devaney said he did not appreciate what he saw on video of the incident shown in court Wednesday, he did not appreciate the defendant’s criminal history, and he did not appreciate the fact that the defendant had a warrant for failure to appear, after being convicted of assault on an officer in Ohio.
“Be that as it may, I have seen much more severe rap sheets in front of me on people with much more severe charges without $750,000 bail,” Devaney said.
District Attorney Summer Stephan weighed in after the arraignment.
“In San Diego County, we are going to hold people accountable for hurting property, looting, burning and hurting police,” Stephan said.
