Developing·Case the developing record
#DC-0087

Ricky Dawson

A San Francisco cold-case prosecution over Nancy Hernandez's 1992 death.

Charged · allegations
last updated 25 July 2026 · 2 sources
Confirmed facts
9
Open questions
3
Stage
Charged
Next date
30 Jul 2026
This case is still developing. Get an email when the file updates.
Audio brief · automated narration of the sourced record
Transcript

Case file Ricky Dawson, reference D C zero zero eight seven. According to CBS News Bay Area, Nancy Hernandez, forty-five, was found dead on May second, nineteen ninety-two, in a utility corridor on Hang Ah Street, a small alley off Clay Street in San Francisco’s Chinatown. CBS News Bay Area reported that police said Hernandez was unhoused and had been living in that utility-corridor space. CBS News Bay Area reported that San Francisco police said the department’s Cold Case unit reopened the case in November twenty twenty-three. The same source reported that police said a warrant was sent to the Denver Sheriff Department and a hold was placed on Dawson on January second, twenty twenty-five. On January fifteenth, twenty twenty-five, CBS News Bay Area reported that San Francisco police announced an arrest warrant for Dawson and said crime-lab DNA profiles entered into CODIS matched Dawson’s profile. CBS News Bay Area reported that Dawson was arraigned on July twentieth, twenty twenty-six, pleaded not guilty, and has a preliminary hearing scheduled for July thirtieth. The file’s open questions include what evidence prosecutors will present, the exact extradition date, and what rulings may follow. This has been an automated reading of case file D C zero zero eight seven at developing case dot com. Every fact you heard names a public source.

Timeline of what's confirmed9 entries
2 May 1992
Nancy Hernandez, 45, was found dead in a utility corridor on Hang Ah Street, a small alley off Clay Street in San Francisco's Chinatown.
CBS News Bay Area, 15 January 2025
2 May 1992
Police said Hernandez was unhoused and had been living in the utility-corridor space.
CBS News Bay Area, 15 January 2025
November 2023
San Francisco police said the department's Cold Case unit reopened the Hernandez case.
CBS News Bay Area, 15 January 2025
2 January 2025
San Francisco police said a warrant was sent to the Denver Sheriff Department and a hold was placed on Dawson.
CBS News Bay Area, 15 January 2025
15 January 2025
San Francisco police announced that an arrest warrant had been issued for Dawson in the Hernandez cold case.
CBS News Bay Area, 15 January 2025
15 January 2025
Police said crime-lab DNA profiles entered into CODIS matched Dawson's profile.
CBS News Bay Area, 15 January 2025
March 2026
CBS News Bay Area reported Dawson was convicted in a Colorado case and was serving a life sentence before extradition to face the San Francisco case.
CBS News Bay Area, 22 July 2026
20 July 2026
Ricky Dawson, 65, was arraigned in San Francisco on a murder charge and pleaded not guilty; prosecutors alleged special circumstances tied to a prior murder conviction and rape and sodomy allegations, all of which remain unproven in the San Francisco case.
CBS News Bay Area, 22 July 2026
30 July 2026
Dawson's next scheduled court date in the San Francisco case is a preliminary hearing.
CBS News Bay Area, 22 July 2026
Open questionsunconfirmed · not conclusions
What evidence will prosecutors present at the 30 July 2026 preliminary hearing?future court action · unconfirmed
What is the exact date Dawson was extradited to San Francisco?not confirmed in trusted sources reviewed · unconfirmed
What rulings, if any, will follow the preliminary hearing?future court action · unconfirmed
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