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A 19-year-old East Palo Alto man has pleaded no contest to two felonies – assault with a metal object and evading the police – following a high-speed chase from Menlo Park to Belmont, when he allegedly drove at speeds exceeding 100 mph and struck two police cars, according to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.
Francisco Nunez-Nepita was sentenced to nine months in county jail with 104 days of credit for time served and three years of supervised probation. A restitution hearing is set for June 27. He is in custody on $175,000 bail.
Police responded to a report on March 25 that three or four masked people had been seen in a Ford Escape in the 1300 block of Carlton Avenue in eastern Menlo Park.
When an officer approached the car, Mr. Nunez-Nepita drove off at a high speed, ramming one police car and sideswiping another, running red lights, crossing double yellow lines and hitting speeds of more than 100 mph on U.S. 101, prosecutors said.
The driver pulled off at Holly Street in San Carlos, where an occupant of the vehicle, Andrew Rumbo-Ochoa, 19, from Redwood City, fled from the car and threw something into the bushes, police said. The car was later pulled over at Ralston Avenue in Belmont, where Mr. Nunez-Nepita was arrested. In the backseat were two teenage juveniles.
Later, an unloaded firearm was found in the path where Mr. Rumbo-Ochoa ran. He now faces a misdemeanor charge of possessing a concealed firearm in a car, Mr. Wagstaffe said. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge and is scheduled for a pretrial conference on June 7. He remains out of custody.
In Mr. Nunez-Nepita’s case, Mr. Wagstaffe said that while assault with a vehicle and assault with a metal object are both felonies, being convicted of assault with a metal object does not come with the added punishment of a lifetime driver’s license ban.
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By Kate Bradshaw
By Kate Bradshaw
By Kate Bradshaw
Redwood City attorney sues ‘First Amendment auditors’ after Menlo Park disputeApril 2, 2026 11:31 am
That sounds like barely a slap on the wrist for what this guy did. He deserves to spend time in prison not a few weeks in county jail. He not only put many lives at risk during the chase he assaulted the police by ramming two police cars. Why is this guy getting off so easy?
I agree with Brian’s comment above, plus, has anyone checked to see if these guys are illegals? If so, ship them back to their country of origin and quit wasting my taxpayer dollars on them!!! Send San Mateo County DA, Steve Wagstaffe, your thoughts. His email address is: swagstaffe@smcgov.org
Why possession of the firearm only a misdemeanor? Hope they do ballistic checks to see if the gun found in the bushes matches known crimes. So he’s out on bail, ready to get another gun? Did they search the car & the other boys for bullets? Maybe he threw them away too?
Like Pearl, I hope the guy(s) is(are) illegal & get sent to wherever they came from.
Is Wagstaffe going soft so he can’t be accused of being too hard on Hispanic-Latinos?
Isn’t everyone impressed about the thought of the Jr. detectives? I am sure law enforcement, the real ones,have already coved all aspects of the case. Who knows, they may have a big surprise waiting for him at trial!!
More BS thanks to Props 47 and 57. The criminals are winning and becoming more brash. Lock ’em up!