East Palo Alto: Four indicted in 2022 park shootout that killed cousin of Raiders receiver

PALO ALTO, EAST — The last suspect in a deadly 2022 shootout in a city park teeming with children has been apprehended, authorities said, after several criminal indictments were handed down in connection with the daytime gun battle.

The shooting occurred on the evening of May 17, 2022, at Jack Ferrell Park, with several men opening fire and several bystanders present. One of the victims, Ralph Fields Jr., a cousin of Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver and East Palo Alto native Davante Adams, died at the hospital.

East Palo Alto police stressed early on that the shooting was not random, and they tallied 33 shots fired between three rounds of gunfire. Two people were arrested a week after the shooting, according to police.

According to police, an investigation that included the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office, Atherton police, and the U.S. Marshals Service eventually identified four suspects: East Palo Alto residents Miguel Bracamontes, 21, and Luis Mariscal, 38; Union City resident Michael McNack, 20; and San Francisco resident Bobby Williams, 49.

According to District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe, the shooting appeared to be the result of a chance encounter at the park between two groups who were already feuding. According to police, Bracamontes, Mariscal, and McNack were on one side of the battle and exchanged gunfire with Williams, who was injured.

Authorities announced on Wednesday that a criminal grand jury indicted the four men on multiple charges related to the shooting on Aug. 4, including assault with a deadly weapon and discharge of a firearm with gross negligence. Except for McNack, all of the suspects were already in jail on unrelated charges when the indictment was issued. McNack was apprehended by marshals at his home on Tuesday.

Any homicide-related charges directly related to Fields’ death are not included in the indictment. Wagstaffe stated that prosecutors investigated the case for potential murder and manslaughter charges, but concluded that the speed with which the shootout unfolded prevented them from gathering enough evidence to prove criminal responsibility in Fields’ death.

“We cannot conclude from witness statements and the limited video that people were not acting in self-defense in some way.” “It was a really chaotic scene,” Wagstaffe said, adding that the evidence “did support people carrying weapons they weren’t supposed to be carrying, as well as the other charges.”

The four defendants were to be arraigned in a Redwood City courtroom on Wednesday. East Palo Alto Police Chief Jeff Liu praised the investigation’s “mission to hold every gunman accountable for their decision to fire guns in a park full of kids.”