Ronald Bridgeforth arrives at the San Mateo County Superior Courthouse in Redwood City, Calif....
 
REDWOOD CITY -- An alleged 1960s radical who got into a gunfight with South San Francisco police 43 years ago pleaded no contest to the crime Tuesday and now faces up to 15 years in prison.But Ronald Bridgeforth, who had been living under the alias Cole Jordan in Michigan for more three decades, could get probation for the Nov. 5, 1968, crime. No police were injured in the shootout.
Prosecutors, however, are seeking a prison sentence for the man they say was a member of violent offshoot of the Black Panthers when he opened fire on South San Francisco police Officer George Baptista. Bridgeforth's attorney Paul Harris denies his client had any ties to the Black Liberation Army.
Bridgeforth, who has been out on $25,000 bail since the day after turning himself in Nov. 10, entered his plea in San Mateo County Superior Court with little emotion. His family and a group of about a dozen supporters sat quietly in the gallery. Bridgeforth declined to talk to reporters after the brief hearing.
During the hearing, Judge Lisa Novak asked the probation department to prepare a sentencing recommendation. Bridgeforth is due back for sentencing at 9 a.m. on Feb. 3.
Because the laws were so different at the time of the shootout with police, it had been somewhat unclear what maximum sentence Bridgeforth faces. Novak eliminated those doubts when she said Bridgeforth could face up to 15 years behind bars followed by four years of parole.

 Before being sentenced for that crime he jumped bail and disappeared. After some time traveling in Africa, Bridgeforth returned to the United States and worked as a laborer in a couple cities before settling in Michigan, said Harris. Bridgeforth eventually got a master's degree in counseling. Bridgeforth quit his counseling job at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor, Mich., before surrendering.
 
Bridgeforth opened fire after fleeing from a White Front discount store after being caught trying to make a $29 purchase with a stolen credit card. Police shot out the tire of Bridgeforth's getaway car, and he was arrested. Harris said his client was shot in the ankle, which makes him the only person hurt in the exchange.