2 arrested in the 'targeted' killings of 6 in California, sheriff says
Two alleged gang members were arrested, one of them after a shootout with police, in the killings of six people in central California last month, authorities said Friday.
Angel Uriarte, 35, and Noah Beard, 25, were arrested Friday morning and each have been charged with six counts of murder and other charges in what had been called a massacre in Goshen on Jan. 16, officials said.
Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said the killings in Goshen, the victims of which were mostly members of one family, were targeted, and that the suspects and two members of the victims' family were in rival gangs.
A 16-year-old mother and her 10-month-old baby boy were among the people killed.
Surveillance video showed that mother, Alissa Parraz, placing her baby, Nycholas, over a high wooden fence, and hopping a smaller fence to try and escape. A man in a hooded sweatshirt enters the frame behind her, pulling out a gun.
“This family was targeted by cold-blooded killers,” Boudreaux said.
Killed in the shootings were: Eladio Parraz, 52; Marcos Parraz, 19; Jennifer Analla, 49; Rosa Parraz, 72; Alissa Parraz, 16; and Nycholas, who was 10 months old.
Uriarte and Beard are members of the Norteno gang, and two members of the Parraz family were members of the Sureno gang, Boudreaux said. The two gangs are rivals, he said.
“However, having said that, the motive is not exactly clear at this point,” Boudreaux said.
Beard was arrested in Visalia as deputies and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives served warrants at three locations there and in Goshen around 6 a.m., officials said.
In Goshen, Uriarte fired at ATF agents and was shot, according to authorities. He was taken to a hospital and is expected to survive, the sheriff said.
At Friday’s news conference, chilling 911 call audio was played in which a woman tells the dispatcher her boyfriend had been shot, and to send help.
“They’re still shooting,” the woman, who hid in a trailer, said. Moments later, she says, “They’re coming back. They’re coming back in!” and “Please hurry!”
Sheriff’s Lt. Steve Sanchez said investigators believe Beard killed the teenaged mother and her baby. They were found in the street and had been shot in the back of the head, Boudreaux said.
One of the other women killed was shot in the head and investigators believe she had been shot in her sleep, the sheriff said. The other was shot in a kneeling position, he said.
The charges against Uriarte and Beard could carry the death penalty if convicted, but Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward said a decision has not been made.
They could also face federal charges. Josh Jackson, acting special agent in charge of the ATF’s San Francisco division, said Uriarte could be charged with assault on a federal agent for Friday’s shooting.
Online court records did not show an attorney for either man Friday night.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
