Bay Area dad facing 3 years in prison after prank gone wrong

A San Mateo man is facing several years in prison after he fired a handgun at a group of teens who bullied his daughter by egging his home last year. 

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Steven Miceli pleaded no contest to felony assault with a firearm and possession of an AR-15 that was later found at his home after the shooting on May 25, 2025, San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe told SFGATE. Miceli is now facing up to three years in prison. 

“He does not have a significant record, but he is facing a potential jail sentence,” Wagstaffe told SFGATE on Wednesday. “You can’t overreact to situations with gunfire.” 

The altercation started on May 23 when three Hillsdale High School students poured oil over Miceli’s porch on the ​​1000 block of Annapolis Drive in San Mateo, according to incident notes shared by Chief Deputy District Attorney Shin-Mee Chang. The teens targeted Miceli’s home because it was where a female classmate “they did not like lived,” according to Chang.  

Two days later, the same group of teens, ages 16 and 17, returned and threw raw eggs at Miceli’s home. As they drove away in their SUV, Miceli, who was standing outside with a handgun, shot at the teen’s SUV twice, hitting the passenger side quarter window, according to the incident notes.

Miceli told San Mateo police officers who responded to the shooting that his daughter “had been the victim of constant bullying at the high school” and that he was angry about “cleaning oil off the porch,” according to the incident notes. Miceli told police officers that he meant to shoot the SUV’s tires and that he tossed his gun into Waterdog Lake. Following the incident, police obtained a search warrant and recovered an illegal automatic rifle at Miceli’s home on an unspecified date. 

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“This was such a highly dangerous situation,” Chang told SFGATE. “We’re relieved no one got hurt.” 

The three teens involved in the case will not be charged, but Wagstaffe warned that “pranks” can put teens in “bad situations.” 

Miceli is in custody on a $25,000 cash bond and is expected to be sentenced on Aug. 10.