2 Norteños gang members arrested Central Valley family massacre
VISALIA, Tulare County — Two suspects in the massacre of six people last month in central California were arrested early Friday, one after a gunbattle, the Tulare County sheriff said.
Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said the suspects are 25-year-old Noah Beard of Visalia, who was taken into custody without incident and 35-year-old Angel Uriarte of Goshen, who was wounded in the shootout with federal agents and was undergoing surgery.
Both men were identified as members of the notorious Norteños gang.
"In the beginning I mentioned it was a cartel like shooting," Boudreaux told reporters. "And as all of you can imagine this is exactly what it appears to be. Rivalry gangs between the Norteños and Sureños. Two victims in the Parraz were well known, validated Sureños."
Boudreaux said Gushon -- site of the massacre -- was predominately the turf of the Norteños gang.
The Tulare County District Attorney's office have charged Beard and Uriarte with six counts of murder and other criminal offenses. The charges come with special circumstance enhancements which could lead to a death sentence if prosecutors decide to follow that legal course.
Uriarte also faces federal charges for firing shots at the ATF agents as they served his arrest warrant.
The six victims, including a teen mother and her baby, were gunned down on Jan. 16 in Goshen, a community of 3,000 in the San Joaquin Valley.
The victims were identified as: Rosa Parraz, 72; Eladio Parraz, Jr., 52; Jennifer Analla, 49; Marcos Parraz, 19; Alissa Parraz, 16; and Nycholas Parraz, 10 months.
Authorities said they had identified Beard as the gunman who allegedly shot Alissa Parraz and little Nycholas Parraz.
The sheriff has said Alissa Parraz had just been awarded full custody of her son after he spent months in the foster care system. The two were reunited on Jan. 13 — three days before they were killed.
The Goshen killings were part of a violent and deadly month in California.
On Jan. 21, a shooting at Monterey Park dance hall killed 11 and wounded nine. The gunman later killed himself. On Jan. 23, shootings at two Half Moon Bay farms killed seven and wounded one before the suspect was arrested.
