A San Francisco judge denied a motion to reduce the felony vandalism charges against a man accused of getting naked in his high-rise apartment building and intentionally flooding the property, causing millions in damages and leading to the evacuation and relocation of hundreds of his neighbors.
In addition to the felony vandalism charge, Michael Nien also faces a misdemeanor charge of tampering with a fire alarm. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In explaining her decision, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Rochelle East cited the “scope of the damage and the impact on the other victims.”
“It would be hard to imagine what felony vandalism would be if not a case like this,” East said.
Early in the morning of Oct. 11, 2022, Nien allegedly got naked and ran up and down the hallways of his 418-unit apartment building at 100 Van Ness Ave. banging on the doors of his neighbors, according to a police report of the incident.
He then went down to the 11th floor and allegedly opened high-pressure pipes meant for use by firefighters and sent water pouring down on the lower floors. Emergency responders found Nien in what they describe as an altered mental state. He was naked, drenched in water and standing next to an open pipe.
Oz Erickson, the chairman of Emerald Fund, which owns 100 Van Ness, said the vandalism caused upward of $14 million in damage and meant that more than 200 residents of the property were forced out of their homes for months during the holidays.
Residents of damaged apartments were temporarily moved to hotels. The flooding left elevators inoperable, trapping remaining residents with mobility issues or forcing them to use the stairs. All told, reconstruction and remediation took around five months to complete.
“I am very pleased that the judge decided not to reduce this to a misdemeanor,” Erickson said. “Actions must have consequences, and this was an action that seriously impacted hundreds of San Francisco residents.”
Nien’s attorney, public defender Anthony Gedeon, filed a motion to reduce the felony vandalism charges to a misdemeanor. In court, Gedeon said that Nien had found employment, made strides in turning his life around and received positive reports from his case management program.
“I would just note that this seems like a completely isolated incident that will never happen again,” Gedeon said, arguing that reducing the charges raises the potential for Nien to avoid prison time without impacting restitution for victims.
Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Yang called the episode the culmination of a five-year backslide in Nien’s life and pointed to previous vandalism complaints from his neighbors.
A number of victim impact statements were delivered in court to demonstrate the financial, emotional and physical impacts of the alleged act of vandalism.
Connor O’Doherty, a resident of the building, said he awoke to fire alarms in the early morning and found water up to his ankles that completely took over his apartment.
“What Michael Nien did wasn’t simple vandalism; it was terrorism,” O’Doherty said.
Emily Igler, a resident who lives on the 11th floor, said she is still impacted by the events last October. She said ferrying her possessions down the stairs worsened her back and neck pain and she still faces fears that she’ll return to a ruined apartment.
“I’m not fully recovered, and I’m not sure how long it will take,” Igler said.
Nien is next scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 18.