Suspect in shooting death of San Francisco Urban Alchemy worker Joey Alexander makes 1st court appearance
Dozens gathered in the corridors of San Francisco's Hall of Justice Friday to show their support for Joey Alexander, the Urban Alchemy worker who was shot and killed outside San Francisco's main public library the week before.
While cameras weren't allowed to film, ABC7 News was inside the courtroom where suspect, 42-year-old Edmund Bowen's, scheduled arraignment was deferred. Bowen is alleged to have shot Alexander with a shotgun after the Urban Alchemy employee asked him to stop doing drugs in public due to children being around.
Cedric Akbar's organization, Positive Directions Equals Changes, works closely with Urban Alchemy. He said came to court to make sure Alexander's alleged killer faces justice.
"How does San Francisco allow a person to walk around with weapons and be able to pull them out and do that in front of a public library where children go to, where regular citizens go to," Akbar said.
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That sense of frustration was also felt by people like Lanier Coles, who runs an advocacy group called Drug Free Sidewalks.
She said city leaders and the judicial system have long failed people like Alexander.
"The law is that it is illegal to use synthetic drugs, like fentanyl, on public spaces like the sidewalk," Coles said.
Alexander experienced his own struggles with addiction and incarceration during his lifetime, but had made lasting, positive changes -- facts that Coles says makes his passing even more frustrating.
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"That makes this story incredibly sad. And this should be a galvanizing moment for San Francisco voters," Coles said.
Despite the tragedy, people like Akbar are passionate about continuing their mission, determined not to let Alexander's death be in vain.
"When you sign up for this, we go out and do what we have to do, and we try to do it with caution. We try to do it with compassion, and we try to do it with care," he said.
