Albert Samaha
Ross Mirkarimi addresses the press after his sentencing hearing.
It was a strange and imposing sight for unsuspecting passersby making a hard left out of the Hall of Justice's third floor elevator: A throng of reporters three rows deep blockading the corridor.
Reporters and photographers aimed their gazes and lenses squarely on the elevator entrance-way, eagerly awaiting the arrival of Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, who has become the spectacle of San Francisco ever since his Jan. 13 arrest in connection with a New Year's Eve dispute with his wife, Eliana Lopez.
They jockeyed to capture the progressive darling-turned-criminal in the immediate moments before he was sentenced to three years probation, 100 hours community service, 52 weeks of domestic violence classes, and a $400 domestic violence fine. He was also sentenced to one day in county jail, time he has already served.