Dmitri Mishin, the man who fired blanks at people in a San Francisco synagogue in 2023, was sentenced Friday to more than seven years in state prison.
S.F. Superior Court Judge Eric Fleming delivered the sentence of 88 months, or seven years and four months. However, Mishin’s prison stay will be shortened due to time already served and possibly for good behavior.
Accounting for both factors, his sentence could end in as soon as 392 days, or about 13 months, according to Randy Quezada, a spokesperson for the S.F. District Attorney’s Office.
Last month, a jury convicted the 53-year-old San Franciscan of six felony hate crime counts for his Feb. 1, 2023, attack inside the Schneerson Center, a small Orthodox synagogue in the Richmond District that serves predominantly Russian-speaking Jews.
Rabbi Bentziyon Pil, spiritual leader of the Schneerson Center, said the attack terrified the people gathered for a study session, many of whom were elderly. The incident reduced attendance at the shul for a period of time because people were too frightened to return. Pil, who was present during the attack, testified multiple times during the course of the criminal proceedings and advocated for a tough sentence.
On Friday, Pil said he had mixed feelings about the outcome.
“It’s better than nothing,” he said. “But what will happen after one year? Will he come again?”
Witnesses said Mishin mentioned something about “Mossad,” the Israeli intelligence agency, before opening fire with what appeared to be a gun. Social media posts linked to Mishin contained antisemitic content and celebrated Nazis.
Mishin’s family has said he suffers from mental health issues and a drinking problem. Quezada said the terms of Mishin’s parole after his release could require mental health treatment and supervision. That would be “later on down the line,” Quezada told J. via text.
During the attack, Mishin entered the one-room prayer, study and social area of the small storefront synagogue. Surveillance video captured the incident. For about 10 seconds, he appeared to address the dozen or so people while gesturing with his arms. He then pulled what looked like a gun from his jacket, cocked it and fired approximately eight shots while swinging his arm from his left to his right and aiming toward people sitting just feet away.
The device fired blanks — not bullets — which means they generated a muzzle flash and loud sound but didn’t include projectiles.
In total, Mishin was convicted of six counts of making threats that interfere with religious worship, which falls under California’s “terrorizing” laws. All six counts included hate crime enhancements. He was also convicted of six counts of brandishing an “imitation” firearm, which is a misdemeanor.
Mishin has spent about 450 days in jail since his arrest in February 2023, which affords him credit toward his sentence. According to Quezada, time spent in jail before sentencing counts extra toward someone’s sentence. In other words, Mishin has received credit for more than the roughly 450 days he has spent incarcerated.
During the criminal proceedings, Mishin’s relatives sought to push back on the prosecution’s argument that his crime was motivated by antisemitism, testifying that he has a Jewish grandmother. A family member who previously spoke with J. said that Mishin did not consider himself to be Jewish.
For Pil, Mishin’s antisemitic motivation was clear.
“He came into a synagogue and tried to make everybody scared. It’s not like somebody had a fight with him, or an argument,” he said. “He hates Jewish people.”
When the sentence was announced last month, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins thanked the jury, commended prosecutors and said her office takes a tough stand against hate crimes.
“There is no place for antisemitism in our community,” Jenkins said on Aug. 20. “My office is committed to vigorously prosecuting hate crimes and will do everything we can to fight hate in the courtroom.”