Repeat Offender Charged In Fatal San Francisco Home Invasion, Renewing Debate Over Mental-Health Diversion

Repeat Offender Charged In Fatal San Francisco Home Invasion

Cassidy Wyatt Allen, 45, has been charged with special-circumstance murder and first-degree burglary after a woman was found dead inside a home in a normally quiet San Francisco neighborhood, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office said. The charges were announced following an investigation into the Nov. 23 death of 38-year-old Jessica Alejandra Sanchez Landaverde.

“Our hearts break for this family,” District Attorney Brooke Jenkins told KTVU. She added that Allen could face life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.

According to the DA’s office, police were dispatched just before 3 p.m. on Nov. 23 to a residence on the 200 block of Granada Avenue after a tenant returned and heard someone inside rush to the front door and lock it. The tenant ran back to her vehicle and called 911, reporting that she felt “terrified and alarmed.”

When officers arrived they observed a slightly open window and bent blinds near the front door, although the door itself showed no obvious signs of forced entry. After officers pushed the door open, they found Sanchez Landaverde lying on her back near the foot of the bed; she was later pronounced dead at the scene, the DA’s office said.

Later the same day, officers conducting a welfare check near 19th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard located and detained a man matching a person-of-interest description. Investigators identified the man as Allen and say they developed probable cause for his arrest. Allen was booked into the San Francisco County Jail on suspicion of murder and first-degree burglary and is being held without bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 17.

Prior Arrests And Diversion History

Public court records reviewed by reporters show Allen has an extensive arrest history, including allegations related to second-degree robbery, battery, assault with a deadly weapon, inflicting injury on an elder or dependent adult, and possession of burglary tools and drug paraphernalia. In at least one prior case he was placed into California’s mental-health diversion program, which routes eligible defendants into treatment instead of incarceration under Penal Code §1001.36 when a qualifying mental-health disorder is found to have significantly contributed to the offense.

Critics say the diversion program has broadened beyond its original intent and sometimes includes defendants with violent histories. Sacramento County Sheriff Jim Cooper and other officials have publicly warned that the program can be misapplied, while the DA’s office notes that the current charges against Allen—special-circumstance murder and first-degree burglary—are explicitly ineligible for diversion under state law.

Investigation And Community Reaction

Neighbors described the Granada Avenue area as typically quiet and said they were shocked by the violent incident. The case is being handled by the San Francisco District Attorney’s Homicide Unit, which said investigators are still gathering evidence and asked anyone with information to contact the San Francisco Police Department tip line at 1-415-575-4444.

Note: Allen is charged and presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.