Fresno mother recounts son’s fatal shooting in emotional testimony

Leandra Rubio broke down on the witness stand Tuesday as she described the last call from her son, Raul “Bobby” Nunez, before he was killed in southeast Fresno. Her testimony in Judge Michael G. Idiart’s courtroom gave prosecutors a firsthand account of the fear, confusion and violence that surrounded the July 8, 2022, shooting near East Iowa Avenue and North Eighth Street.

Rubio testified that Nunez told her he was worried someone was after him. She said she then drove with her husband and three sons in a Hyundai Elantra to pick him up from Stacy Zurita’s home, which was just a block away. Video shown in court captured Rubio arriving at the home, where it appeared the Zurita family was arguing with Stacy Zurita’s mother before Nunez stepped outside and tried to calm things down.

Rubio said she heard her son say, “Chill, chill, chill,” just before the confrontation turned deadly. Nunez, 25, and Stacy Zurita, 21, were both fatally shot at about 11:30 p.m. Police believe Stacy Zurita was not the intended target. Fresno police have identified Gerardo Zurita and Leobardo Zurita as the accused shooters in the case.

The testimony added a human and evidentiary layer to a case that prosecutors say grew out of a fight between the Zurita and Nunez families. ABC30 reported that witnesses saw a car leave the home and return shortly afterward, with shots fired from inside the vehicle. Investigators said surveillance video showed Leobardo Zurita in the right front passenger seat when the shots were fired. Police also said the two suspects were later arrested after being spotted in Fresno with altered appearances.

The hearing underscored how central the shooting remains in Fresno’s wider gun-violence picture. The Fresno Police Department reported 60 murders in 2022 and 35 in 2023, along with 449 shootings in 2022 and 366 in 2023. Countywide, law enforcement data showed 83 homicides across Fresno County in 2022.

The case also comes as city and county leaders continue backing violence-intervention efforts, including work funded through the California Violence Intervention and Prevention program. The City of Fresno’s CalVIP evaluation covered neighborhood safety work from Oct. 1, 2020, through Dec. 31, 2023, as officials looked for ways to reduce retaliation shootings and break cycles of violence in neighborhoods like southeast Fresno.