Woman accused of shooting at Fresno deputies while inside patrol car asks for bail
A judge denied bail Wednesday for the woman who exchanged gunshots with Fresno County Sheriff’s deputies last week.
Mariah Spate, 30, appeared in Fresno County Superior Court clad in a yellow jumpsuit reserved for high-risk inmates. She pleaded not guilty to charges of discharging a firearm with gross negligence, possession of a firearm by a felon and resisting a police officer.
The District Attorney’s Office says Spate is from Fresno. Previous law enforcement reports identified her hometown as Clearlake in Northern California.
Spate is accused of firing one shot at deputies who had come to evict her from a a northwest Fresno apartment. She was also wanted for a domestic-related shooting that happened on July 15 in the 1400 block of Calimyrna Avenue. The victim survived being shot in the face.
Spate was arrested, handcuffed and placed in the back of a sheriff’s vehicle. But she got out of her handcuffs, pulled out a concealed handgun and fired one shot at the deputies from the back seat of the patrol car. The officers returned fire and struck Spate with a non-life threatening wound.
Spate’s public defender Regina Chessari argued that her client should be allowed to post bail that corresponds with what she is being charged.
Senior District Attorney Robert Veneman-Hughes urged Judge Jon Kapetan to not let Spate out of jail or at least set her bail at $1 million.
“Based upon what I have heard and the charges pending in the other case, she is an extreme danger to society,” Kapetan said. “I am going to set no bail.”
Kapetan left open the possibility of revisiting the bail issue at a further date.
Spate’s next court appearances are scheduled Aug. 22 for a pre-preliminary hearing and Aug. 29 for a preliminary hearing.
This story was originally published August 17, 2022 at 3:48 PM.
