San Francisco

Driver in SF Kidnapping, Fatal Emeryville Crash Charged With Murder

A driver who allegedly kidnapped a woman but let her out before leading San Francisco police on a pursuit Sunday across the Bay Bridge, which ended in a fiery, fatal crash in Emeryville, has been charged with murder.

Michael Brown, 42, is being charged for the June 10 crash, which killed 40-year-old Daphne Bailey. Brown has also been charged with human trafficking, kidnapping, conspiracy, assault and domestic violence.

Brown was set to be arraigned Thursday, however, his arraignment was continued to Monday morning. It was not immediately clear if he would be present on Monday, as he remains hospitalized.

Although Brown is in the hospital, he remains in police custody and is being held without bail.

He's being represented by the Public Defender's Office.

According to police, the alleged offenses began Sunday in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood, when a witness reported seeing Brown beat and force a woman into the trunk of his car near Turk and Leavenworth streets just before 3 p.m.

At some point, Brown allegedly allowed the victim to leave somewhere near Van Ness Avenue. Brown then sped off in his car, along with Bailey in the passenger's seat, according to court documents.

As the pair was driving on the Bay Bridge, heading east, San Francisco officers caught up with them and a pursuit allegedly ensued. The alleged pursuit ended near West MacArthur Boulevard and Peralta Street in Emeryville around 3:20 p.m., when Brown's car struck a pole, causing it to go up in flames, court documents said.

Bailey was pronounced dead at the scene and Brown was taken out of the vehicle by first responders and transported to the hospital.

Court documents allege that Brown was acting as a pimp for Bailey and the kidnapping victim.

In April, Brown allegedly enlisted the kidnapping victim to work for him as a prostitute. He would allegedly take her car, cellphone and ID before dropping her off in an area known for prostitution.

If the victim did not make enough money for him, he allegedly would often force her to sleep outside, according to court documents.

On May 28, the victim failed to give all of her money from prostituting to Brown and he allegedly punched her in the face. Because of this, the following week, she left Brown to work for another pimp.

In a plan to apparently punish the victim for leaving him, Brown allegedly got Bailey to lure her to the Tenderloin.

On Sunday, Bailey called the victim, telling her that she wanted to celebrate the victim's birthday and that she would provide the victim with a cake and a bag of cocaine, court documents allege.

The victim agreed and when she went to meet Bailey at Turk and Leavenworth, Brown appeared and allegedly punched the victim in the face, knocking her to the ground.

Brown then allegedly dragged the victim to the vehicle, where Bailey allegedly helped him throw the woman into the trunk. Brown allegedly told the victim he was going to kill her.

A bystander who witnessed the alleged beating and kidnapping then followed Brown, and eventually called police.

After the fatal crash in Emeryville, officers determined that the kidnapping victim had gotten out of the trunk well before the crash.

She was taken to a hospital, where she was reported to be in fair condition on Sunday.

According to court documents, Brown has a substantial criminal history, with a separate pending felony domestic violence case in San Francisco Superior Court, set for jury trial next week.

In addition, he's previously been convicted other crimes, including assault with a deadly weapon in 2002, for which he served three years in state prison; possession of a loaded firearm in 1998, for which he served four years in state prison; and robbery in 1996, for which he served two years in state prison.

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