A San Francisco jury has convicted Christian Plummer of assault with a deadly weapon, battery, and brandishing a weapon after he approached a victim's apartment carrying a hammer and tried to force his way inside. The victim pushed him away in self-defense, according to testimony and evidence presented at trial.
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced that her office secured Plummer's conviction following the jury trial, according to a post from the SF District Attorney's Office. Per the same account, Plummer approached the victim's apartment holding a hammer and attempted to enter before the victim pushed him away in self-defense. The office described the conviction as covering three separate counts: assault with a deadly weapon, battery, and brandishing a weapon.
2/ Mr. Plummer was convicted of assault w/ a deadly weapon, battery, & brandishing a weapon. According to the testimony & evidence, Mr. Plummer approached the victim’s apartment holding a hammer. He tried to enter & the victim pushed him in self-defense.
— SF DISTRICT ATTORNEY (@SFDAOffice) August 14, 2026
What the Charges Mean Under California Law
Assault with a deadly weapon under California Penal Code Section 245(a)(1) is a wobbler offense, meaning prosecutors can charge it as either a felony or a misdemeanor. As a felony, it can carry two, three, or four years in state prison, according to the Hedding Law Firm, which notes that California law classifies objects capable of producing great bodily injury, including hammers, as deadly weapons under that statute.
The brandishing conviction falls under Penal Code Section 417, which carries a mandatory minimum of 30 days in county jail and a fine of up to $1,000, per the Sitkoff Law Group. That statute prohibits displaying a deadly weapon in anger or during an argument regardless of whether physical contact occurred. The battery charge, meanwhile, is defined under Penal Code Section 242 as any willful and unlawful use of force upon another person, punishable by up to six months in county jail and a $2,000 fine, according to the Shouse Law Group. Battery requires unwanted physical contact under California law but does not require a visible injury.
Why the Victim's Self-Defense Held Up
The victim's push against Plummer was recognized as justified self-defense under California's Castle Doctrine, codified in Penal Code Section 198.5. That law creates a legal presumption that a resident holds a reasonable fear of imminent peril or death when using force against a non-household intruder attempting to forcibly enter their home, according to the Shouse Law Group. Under that same doctrine, California law places no duty on residents to retreat inside their own home when confronted by an intruder.
Collateral Penalties and Sentencing Exposure
Beyond potential prison time, Plummer's convictions carry lasting consequences. A felony conviction for assault with a deadly weapon constitutes a strike under California's Three Strikes Law, which could double the length of any future felony sentence, according to Cron Israels and Stark. Separately, the misdemeanor battery conviction triggers an automatic 10-year statutory ban on purchasing, owning, or possessing firearms in California, according to Eisner Gorin LLP.
It remains unclear when Plummer is scheduled to be sentenced, how much prison or jail time prosecutors will seek, the specific San Francisco neighborhood where the incident occurred, or whether he has prior convictions that could trigger further sentence enhancements. The SF District Attorney's Office post announcing the conviction did not address those details.
A City Still Wary of Armed Intruders
The case lands in a city where hammer attacks and residential break-ins have drawn intense scrutiny in recent years. San Francisco DA Jenkins previously prosecuted David DePape on attempted murder and assault charges after he broke into Paul Pelosi's San Francisco home in October 2022 and attacked him with a hammer, as reported by the Daily Maverick. That case is documented as having focused public attention on residential intruders and hammer attacks across the city. Jenkins was appointed to the DA post in July 2022 following the recall of Chesa Boudin and won election later that year on a platform emphasizing prosecution of violent crimes and repeat offenders.
Hoodline has previously reported on other violent assault cases prosecuted by Jenkins' office, including a Chinatown assault with a wrench and a jury conviction in a separate assault and child endangerment case. Hoodline also covered a 2017 hammer assault at Division and Brannan streets that left a man critically injured, underscoring that hammer-related violence has periodically surfaced as a public safety concern in San Francisco for years.
