5 co-defendants suspected of gang shooting; defendant returned from Colorado

MELANIE NGUYEN, The Bakersfield Californian
·2 min read

All five co-defendants suspected of a 2021 gang shooting in front of Mesa Marin Sports Complex appeared together for the first time in Kern County Superior Court for a status conference Thursday.

Eric Hernandez Faria, 20, Francisco Alejando Garcia, 20, Uriel Ramirez, 21, and Ulyses Zelayandia, 23, are all charged with attempted murder, assault with a semi-automatic firearm, shooting at an inhabited dwelling, carrying a loaded firearm without registration, carrying a loaded firearm in public as a criminal street gang member, participating in a street gang and conspiring to commit a crime.

Ramirez is also charged with resisting arrest and Faria is also charged with first-degree murder.

The fifth co-defendant, Fernando Ulices Alonso, is charged with first-degree murder, attempted murder, assault with a semi-automatic firearm, carrying a loaded firearm without registration, carrying a loaded firearm in public as a criminal street gang member and participating in a street gang.

Alonso was arrested April 5 outside Greeley, Colo., according to the Bakersfield Police Department. He was recently transported to Kern County and was arraigned April 25, when he pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Alonso will be represented by an attorney from the Indigent Defense Program. The other co-defendants are also represented by either the Indigent Defense Program or the Public Defender’s Office.

On Sept. 29, 2021, a victim was shot in the head and died near the Mesa Marin Sports Complex, according to the BPD probable cause statement submitted to Kern County Superior Court.

Faria, Garcia, Ramirez and Zelayandia are involved in a different shooting case. On Christmas Eve 2021, the four were suspected of shooting two people in the 1800 block of Kentucky Street.

According to the police report from the Kern County Sheriff's Office, a grandfather was picking up his teenage grandson from a recording studio when the four men started shooting at the man’s car. According to the report, the teenager and the four defendants are from rival gangs.

According to Daniela Gonzaga, the public information officer for the Kern County District Attorney’s Office, cases for the September and December shootings were combined on April 4.

The five defendants are expected back in court June 5 and 6 for their pre-preliminary hearing and preliminary hearing. Alonso and Faria are being held without bail, while Garcia has a $1.675 million bail, Ramirez has a $950,000 bail and Zenlayandia has a $500,000 bail.