Fresno gang member who fired at off-duty policeman gets 16 years in prison

A gang member in Fresno who fired a gun at an off-duty police officer but missed has been sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison.

The prison sentence for Ricky Burciaga, 28, stems from an incident five years ago in which shots were exchanged with Fresno police officer Arthur De Leon.

Last month, Burciaga, a member of the Bulldogs gang, pleaded no contest to attempted murder and being in a criminal street gang. His time in prison will be less because he has credits of about 5.75 years for time served in the county jail and good behavior credits.

The exchange of gunfire took place the early evening hours of Dec. 2, 2013.

When the case went to trial three years ago, the question of who fired first became a disputed issue. Fellow gang member Mario Rangel, 27, was also put on trial.

But the trial ended in a mistrial after defense attorneys complained the prosecutor failed to disclose evidence, and that a detective interjected his opinions about the case instead of just stating what he observed at the crime scene.

The case could have gone to trial again in January, but Rangel pleaded no contest to one count of assault with a firearm and one count of permitting another to fire from a vehicle. He received a sentence of nine years in state prison, but had jail credits for most of that time.

De Leon, the officer, was not hit but he wrote a victim’s letter to the court that the incident put a lot of stress on his family.

At trial, De Leon said he was driving to the southeast Fresno substation in his family car to go to work and was not in uniform. He was using “hands-free mode” and talking to his wife on his mobile phone while heading south on Cedar when he saw a passenger in a silver Honda making what looked like gang signs with his hands and glaring at him.

He got out his gun and placed it on a backpack on the passenger seat. He said he stopped his car next to and slightly ahead of the Honda being driven by Rangel in which Burciaga was a passenger.

He said Burciaga shouted at him “Whatcha bang?” De Leon told the jury his reply could be perceived as rude and confrontational. He testified that he fired after Buciaga fired at him.

When De Leon got to the police substation, he reported the shooting and the license plate number of the Honda.

Burciaga and Rangel were arrested after they sought treatment for their wounds.