A San Francisco jury convicted Antonio Jones, 29, of battery, theft by false pretenses, and resisting arrest after he attacked a taxi driver who grabbed his jacket to stop him from skipping out on a round-trip fare — then ran from police twice in the same night.

The conviction, announced last week by the San Francisco District Attorney's Office, turns on a detail that rarely reaches a courtroom: the unpaid cab fare itself was charged as a separate crime. Jones faces sentencing Monday at the Hall of Justice — and is currently walking free.

At 10:18 p.m. on January 30, Antonio Jones and a woman took a taxi from San Francisco to Berkeley. Once there, they stepped out at a store without paying. The driver, giving them the benefit of the doubt, went inside and asked the store clerk whether the shop offered taxi vouchers. It didn't.

He waited outside anyway.

When Jones and the woman emerged, they walked past the driver, got back in the cab, and asked to be taken back to San Francisco. They didn't pay for that ride either.

When the taxi arrived back in the city and Jones moved to leave again, the driver grabbed his jacket to stop him. Jones responded by biting, punching, and striking the driver, according to testimony and evidence presented at trial. Community members who witnessed the altercation called 911 and directed a motorcycle officer to the scene.

The officer attempted to de-escalate. Jones ran. When the officer caught up and began placing him in handcuffs, Jones tried to run a second time.

A San Francisco Superior Court jury convicted Jones on three counts: battery under Penal Code 242, obtaining services by false pretenses under PC 532(a), and resisting or obstructing a peace officer under PC 148(a)(1). The false-pretenses charge is notable — prosecutors treated the cab fare not merely as context for the violence but as its own criminal act.

"The jury's verdict holds Mr. Jones accountable and sends a message that this conduct will not be tolerated in San Francisco," District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said in a statement. "My office takes these cases seriously as taxi drivers, like everyone else, should expect to feel safe when doing their jobs."

Assistant District Attorney James Filling, who prosecuted the case with support from DA Investigators Ted Martin and Damon Gilbert, credited both the victim and the public. He said he was grateful for "the jury's careful considerations of the facts and the courage the victim exhibited in testifying."

Battery and resisting arrest under the charged statutes are misdemeanors, which accounts for Jones remaining out of custody. His sentencing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday at the Hall of Justice.

The prosecution also credited members of the public who called 911 and flagged the motorcycle officer down — without them, the case might never have been made at all.