Wilfredo Tortolero Arriechi could not be arraigned today on a murder charge in the stabbing of San Francisco General Hospital social worker Alberto Rangel because he is being held in the same hospital’s psychiatric ward.
Tortolero Arriechi was charged with murder yesterday after Rangel died of his injuries on Saturday. Rangel was brutally stabbed in the hallway of Ward 86, the hospital’s HIV/AIDS clinic, where he worked just three days earlier.
In open court today, the bailiff said that Tortolero Arriechi could not appear. Deputy Public Defender Sylvia Nguyen, who was appointed as Tortolero Arriechi’s attorney, asked for the court to postpone his arraignment by one week to Dec. 16.
Judge Harry Dorfman called the case “a very serious homicide case” and agreed to hold Tortolero Arriechi in custody without bail for the time being. He urged Nguyen to move the case along faster if Tortolero Arriechi is capable of attending court sooner.
In a statement, the District Attorney’s Office claimed that on the afternoon of Dec. 4, Tortolero Arriechi went to San Francisco General Hospital’s Ward 86 on Thursday to “speak to” a doctor while allegedly carrying a concealed knife.
The defendant had reportedly visited San Francisco City Clinic on Seventh Street earlier that day, where the same doctor also works, to seek him out. The doctor hid within the clinic and expressed concerns to the Department of Public Health security director that Tortolero Arriechi would be at the hospital later that day.
The sheriff’s department assigned a deputy to provide security for the doctor, according to the department’s spokesperson. Staff on the floor, who were aware of Tortolero Arriechi and alleged he had made threats of violence in the past, told Mission Local they believed the deputy should have been keeping a close eye on Tortolero Arriechi himself.
According to the DA’s statement, Tortolero Arriechi “appeared calm” and spoke with Rangel, who told him to leave. As the two walked to the elevator together, Tortolero Arriechi “suddenly grabbed [Rangel] from behind and stabbed him numerous times.” A five-inch kitchen knife was recovered at the scene.
On Saturday, Rangel died of his injuries.
Nguyen gave her condolences to Rangel’s family and friends, and declined to comment further until she had the opportunity to meet with her client and review materials in the case.