2 arrested in Goshen, Calif., shooting that killed 6, including a baby
Two people have been charged after the “cartel-style execution” last month of a family of six in California, including a young mother and her 10-month-old baby, authorities said Friday.
Angel Uriarte, 35, and Noah Beard, 25, were arrested and charged each with six counts of murder in connection with the Jan. 16 shooting, Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward said in court. a press conference on Friday.
Both are known members of the Norteño gang, Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux said at the news conference. He said the shooting was likely the result of a conflict between the Norteños and the Sureños, a rival gang.
The suspects have “a long history of gun violence” and are “very active in firearms, gang violence, gun violence and drug trafficking,” Boudreaux said.
“It was clearly not a random act of violence,” he said. “This family was targeted by cold-blooded killers.”
Still, Boudreaux said “the motive isn’t exactly clear at this point.”
FILMING IN CALIFORNIA:Shooter stood over teenage mother, baby and shot them in ‘assassination style’
‘Operation Nightmare’ leads to arrests
The arrests were the result of a multi-agency effort called “Operation Nightmare,” according to the sheriff’s department. The effort included raiding several California prisons and 10 days of monitoring suspects. Ultimately, the forensic evidence helped authorities link the suspects to the shooting.
On Friday morning, more than 100 law enforcement officials from local and federal agencies executed search warrants at three locations to arrest the suspects.
Beard was taken into custody “without incident,” Boudreaux said. But Uriarte fled from law enforcement and fired several shots at ATF officers, who returned fire, the department said. Uriarte was hit in the chest in the shooting and taken to hospital, where he underwent surgery and is in stable condition.
Mother and baby shot ‘murder style’
Deputies from the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office were called to a home in Goshen, a community of about 3,000 people located about 30 miles southeast of Fresno, just before 4 a.m. on Jan. 16, according to office.
Deputies found six people dead at the scene: Eladio Parraz, 52, Marcos Parraz, 19, Jennifer Analla, 49, Rosa Parraz, 72, Alissa Parraz, 16, and her 10-month-old baby, Nycholas. All of the victims died of gunshot wounds, Boudreaux said.
Alissa Parraz tried to flee the attack with her baby, Boudreaux said. In surveillance video released during Friday’s press conference, a young woman can be seen lifting a baby over a fence and climbing it.
Boudreaux said a gunman grabbed her, stood over her and fired several bullets into her skull, calling the shot “assassination style”. The mother and child were found dead in the street outside the house.
A gunman also shot Parraz, a 72-year-old grandmother, as she slept in the house, authorities said.
Contact Christine Fernando at cfernando@usatoday.com or follow her on Twitter at @christinetfern.
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