Among the many things Sheriff-in-limbo Ross Mirkarimi said on the radio this morning was that his former girlfriend, Christina Flores, had fabricated her story that he abused her while the two dated in 2008.
"I was looking forward to the trial to really dispel it, though. It was a
piling on ... so much fabrication that came in this pile-on," Mirkarimi said on KQED's Forum this morning.
While he didn't mention her by name, Mirkarimi's comments were in response to Michael Krasny's questions about a former girlfriend from Los Angeles who had testified against Mirkarimi in court. Needless to say, Flores was not happy when she heard Mirkarimi's comments on the radio. She contacted SF Weekly to defend her story.
"I'm upset because I know I did the right thing, and now he is slandering me. I did my part to tell what happened to me under oath, and I take that oath very seriously," Flores told us. "I spent two days in examination and cross-examination, and then he comes out and says I fabricated the whole thing."
Flores' scathing accusations became a pivotal point in the case against the sheriff, who was arrested on Jan. 13 on suspicion of domestic violence against his wife, Eliana Lopez. He was charged with battery, child endangerment, and dissuading a witness.
Twenty days after his arrest, Flores went to police and filed a report of her own, claiming Mirkarimi, who was a city supervisor at the time, had abused her when they dated nearly four years ago. She referred to him as a "raging pit bull," and claimed she was coming forward at this time in light of the accusations about Mirkarimi physically abusing his wife.
Flores' testimony was accepted by the judge; however, the case ended after Mirkarimi pleaded guilty to false imprisonment as part of a deal to get his domestic violence charges dropped.
Since then, Flores tells us that other women who have been in contact with Mirkarimi have come to her, detailing their experiences with a "violent-tempered" Mirkarimi. She said none of the women would come forward publicly or give their names at this time.
We contacted Mirkarimi, whose voicemail is full. His lawyer, David Waggoner, told us that he would ask Mirkarimi to call us, but that right now the sherrif is "overwhelmed."
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