Angel Lopez Ibarra Jr. faces involuntary manslaughter charges after prosecutors say he killed his friend with a single slap to the face outside an East Palo Alto market.

Ibarra, 53, pleaded not guilty Wednesday, Sept. 9, to involuntary manslaughter and assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury, the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office said. He also faces a felony parole violation charge.

The victim, Andres Alberto Henriquez Gomez, 52, of Menlo Park, died at Stanford Hospital about two hours after the Sept. 3 assault, according to prosecutors.

Ibarra and Henriquez Gomez were friends, the District Attorney's Office said.

What prosecutors allege

Henriquez Gomez was sitting outside La Estrellita Market near University Avenue and Runnymede Street around 2 p.m. Sept. 3 when he said something that angered Ibarra, according to Patch, citing the District Attorney's Office.

Ibarra walked over and slapped Henriquez Gomez forcefully in the face and nose area with an open hand, prosecutors alleged. Henriquez Gomez bled profusely from his nose, stood up, walked around, and sat back down.

Ibarra then walked into a nearby barbershop, prosecutors said.

East Palo Alto police arrived around 2:20 p.m. after receiving reports of a man acting erratically and disrobing in public. Officers found Henriquez Gomez bleeding with significant facial injuries. He identified Ibarra as his alleged attacker before paramedics transported him to Stanford Hospital.

Henriquez Gomez was pronounced dead about two hours after the assault. His cause of death remains pending as autopsy results have not been released, the District Attorney's Office said.

When Ibarra learned his friend had died, he was "in disbelief and extremely upset," according to the District Attorney's Office, as reported by the Almanac.

Ibarra's criminal record

Ibarra has a lengthy criminal history in San Mateo County, according to District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe, as reported by the Almanac. Wagstaffe told the Almanac that Ibarra was on probation at the time of the Sept. 3 incident. The filed charges, however, include a felony parole violation.

Ibarra pleaded no contest to three counts of felony vandalism for smashing the windows of 14 cars in East Palo Alto with a metal pipe on June 14, 2021, Wagstaffe said. On Feb. 18, 2024, Ibarra fired a gun into a building near Pal Market in East Palo Alto, though no one was injured, Wagstaffe said. He was sentenced to two years in prison for that case in March 2025 but served no additional jail time after earning credit for time served.

What's next

A judge denied bail for Ibarra, who remains in custody at the San Mateo County Jail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 22.

East Palo Alto had not reported a homicide in more than two years before this incident, police said. East Palo Alto Police Chief Jeff Liu extended condolences to the victim's family in a statement.

Henriquez Gomez's daughter, Brizeida Henriquez, wrote in a GoFundMe fundraiser that her father's "unexpected passing has left our family devastated and facing incredibly difficult times and expenses."

No statement from Ibarra's defense attorney has been made public. Anyone with information about the case can contact the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.