Two men were arrested as suspects in the murder of six people, including a 16-year-old Hispanic girl and her 10-month-old son, in a Central California home last month.
#HAPPENINGNOW: @TulareSheriff Mike Boudreaux Announcing the Arrest of the Suspects Responsible for the Heinous Murders of 6 People in Goshen, including a 10-Month-Old Baby. #OperationNightmare is Over. Streaming Live on our FB Page. #tularecounty #tularecountysheriff #tcso pic.twitter.com/NKqjrQ2Q4Z
- TulareCounty Sheriff (@TulareSheriff) February 3, 2023
Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux revealed the identities of the detainees: Noah David Beard, 25, who was arrested without incident, and Angel "Nanu" Uriarte, 35, who was wounded in a shootout with federal agents prior to his arrest.
Although the motive for the massacre "is not exactly clear," it was determined, based on evidence collected by detectives, that two members of the murdered family were part of the "Sureño" criminal gang. The two suspects arrested were members of the "Norteño" gang.
The sheriff commented that the arrests stem from "Operation Nightmare," when multiple raids were conducted and the cells of inmates associated with some criminal gangs in several state prisons were searched to obtain information relevant to the case.
Victims and the "death penalty"
Early Monday morning, Jan. 16, the bodies of a 16-year-old Hispanic woman and her 10-month-old son were found lifeless outside their home in Goshen County,
California, stemming from a shooting. Four other people, including a grandmother asleep in her bed, were also killed with "cold professionalism."
The victims were identified as: Rosa Parraz (72 years old), Eladio Parraz, Jr. (52), Jennifer Analla (49), Marcos Parraz (19), Alissa Parraz (16), and Nycholas Parraz (10 months). Three people survived the shooting. Two of them were inside a trailer and the other inside the house.
Boudreaux initially described the massacre as "cartel-like," methodical and ruthless, and had not completely ruled out that it was a drug trafficking conflict. The sheriff had also called on Governor Gavin Newsom to allow the death penalty for those responsible, "This should be a death penalty case."
BREAKING: Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux is asking @GavinNewsom to lift the ban on the death penalty in cases where small children are murdered, this is referring to the Goshen Massacre two weeks ago which included the murder of a 10-month-old baby and a 16-year-old mother pic.twitter.com/USP580WduU
— Sophia Lesseos FOX26 (@SophiaLesseos) January 30, 2023
Cartels in the area
Authorities consider the Goshen region "vulnerable to drug trafficking from the border." They transport large quantities of cocaine, heroin and other narcotics. The Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels, two of Mexico's largest drug trafficking groups, operate in the area. Both are involved in illegally growing marijuana in forest reserves and distributing the drug to other states throughout the country:
We have cartels in the Central Valley, in Tulare County (...) The cartels are here for several reasons: selling drugs is lucrative, there is a lot of money to be made, they are focused on money. The other (reason) is that we have a very insecure border.
