Trial set in deadly 2022 gun battle in East Palo Alto park
EAST PALO ALTO – Four men accused of a gun battle that occurred in an East Palo Alto park full of children in 2022 are heading to trial after being arraigned last August, according to the San Mateo District Attorney's Office.
Around 6 p.m. on May 17, 2022 in Jack Farrell Park, located in the 2500 block of Fordham Street, several children were playing in the playground and dozens more were practicing on the baseball field when shots rang out and "chaos ensued," according to prosecutors.
Parents in the bleachers and park who had been watching their children began to run around to get them to safety as over 30 shots were fired by multiple people.
When the shooting was over, one man was dead—East Palo Alto resident Ralph Fields, who was the cousin of Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams.
Three more people were injured, including one of the defendants.
Police used a cellphone recording from an 8-year-old girl who had been playing tag in the park to build their case, prosecutors said.
Suspected in the gun fight are Miguel Bracamontesruiz, 21, Bobby Williams, 50, Luis Javier Mariscal, 38, and Michael McNack, 20.
Williams, who was injured in the shooting, had a court appearance Friday. The cases of Williams, Bracamontesruiz and McNack are set for a March 1 jury trial assignment. Defendant Mariscal has not yet been arraigned.
All defendants are in jail pending trial on a no-bail status.
