According to local sources, a man in Northern California is accused of firing at a vehicle carrying three adolescent boys who had hurled eggs at his house and spilled oil on his porch.
Authorities claimed the alleged event took place on the morning of May 25 in San Mateo, California. According to the San Mateo Police Department, officers investigated a “shooting into an occupied vehicle stemming from alleged bullying and/or harassment,”
“Ultimately, a person was placed under arrest for multiple violations,” the San Mateo Police Department stated on May 28. “Luckily, no involved parties were injured, but the impact of bullying in this situation, and many other situations like it, will likely continue to significantly impact the involved parties for some time.”
Craig Steven Miceli, 54, was charged with three counts of assault with a firearm and extra firearm enhancements, one count of shooting at an occupied motor vehicle, one offense of illegal assault weapon, and one crime of possessing an assault weapon, according to online court records. He pleaded not guilty to all counts at his arraignment on May 27.
According to the Mercury News and KRON-TV, prosecutors accused Miceli of opening fire on an SUV containing three youths aged 16 and 17, on May 25. Miceli told police officers that the adolescents’ pranks enraged him and that his daughter had been bullied at school, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.
Miceli was ordered to have no contact with the three teenagers, and a preliminary hearing was set for June 9, according to online court documents. Miceli remained in detention after his arrest on $25,000 bond, but records show he posted bail on May 29.
On May 29, USA TODAY requested comment from the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office, which did not answer quickly. The San Mateo Police Department declined to comment further on the issue, citing the district attorney’s handling of it.
San Mateo is a wealthy city in Northern California that is part of the larger San Francisco Bay Area metropolitan region. The city is approximately 20 miles south of San Francisco.
The three lads spent last weekend driving around San Mateo, “pulling pranks on classmates from Hillsdale High School,” according to the district attorney’s office. In one case, authorities claimed the kids went to Miceli’s house on May 23 and spilled oil on the doorstep.
The youths returned just after midnight on May 25 and hurled eggs at the house, according to The Mercury News and KRON-TV. Miceli allegedly fired two revolver shots at the teens’ vehicle as they drove away from the house.
One of the bullets struck the vehicle’s passenger side, damaging the quarter panel, according to The Mercury News and KRON-TV. Responding cops halted the vehicle, and Miceli told police that “his daughter had been the victim of constant bullying at the high school and how angry he was having to spend time cleaning oil off the porch,” according to the district attorney’s office.
Miceli also told officers that he was attempting to shoot at the vehicle’s tires before throwing the revolver into a nearby pond, according to The Mercury News and KRON-TV. Police later executed a search warrant at Miceli’s residence, discovering an illegal automatic weapon and other types of ammunition.
“The answer is the crime. In an interview with ABC7 News, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe stated that it is not permissible to point a firearm at a car carrying people and shoot.
Police have encouraged individuals who are being bullied to call authorities, who will “provide every resource available to help prevent another potentially tragic event from occurring.”
