Goshen massacre suspects arrested during Operation Nightmare
Sheyanne N RomeroA quiet, desperate voice responded to the 911 dispatcher, pleading for help.
The woman’s boyfriend had been shot in the stomach and she could still hear gunfire from the trailer she was hiding in.
“Hurry please. They’re coming back. They're coming back. They're coming back,” the woman said as she looked at her bloodied boyfriend. The woman survived the slaughter along with two others hiding in the trailer and inside a Goshen home at the time.
The operator, who stayed calm, reassured, "we have help on the way."
In total, six members of the Parraz family were shot and killed that morning. Nearly all were killed execution style, including a 16-year-old girl and her 10-month-old baby. Surveillance video shows Alissa Parraz, 16, placing her son over a wooden fence then quickly jumping over a chain link fence. Two men slowly walked into frame. The mother and child were shot in the back of the head.
The scene and road remain closed as deputies and federal officers scour for evidence that may help convict the killers.
The suspected shooters, who left behind carnage and unspeakable trauma to the three surviving victims of the Goshen massacre, have been caught. Details of Operation Nightmare were released by Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux on Friday.
“I got no sleep last night,” Boudreaux said at Friday’s press conference. “I came in this morning ready for justice to be served.”
Operation Nightmare
The suspects were identified by law enforcement on Jan. 23 and have been under 24-hour surveillance. Thousands of manhours led to Friday's arrests. This kind of collaboration is not often seen, according to the sheriff.
Law enforcement never took their eyes off the men, including Beard who was hiding just two blocks from sheriff's headquarters in Visalia. Neither appeared to have left the area in the weeks after the shooting.
"This case is very dark. It comes from a very dark place," ATF Special Agent Joshua Jackson said. "We remain ready and able to meet these people where we find them and bring them into the light so that they can stand for accountability in a court of law."
From the start, investigators believed the shooters were from a rival gang. Boudreaux confirmed that the suspects are Norteños. Two members of the Parraz family were known Sureños, living in the predominately Norteño community of Goshen.
It's unclear if earlier mentions of cartel involved hold true.
“Motive is not exactly clear at this point,” Boudreaux said Friday.
After DNA confirmation and hours of collaboration with Tulare County District Attorney’s Office, a plan was put into place to arrest the men.
Before most Tulare County residents had walked into work Friday morning, Noah Beard and Angel Uriate had been captured. During Operation Nightmare, local and federal law enforcement officers served three search warrants, two Goshen and one in Visalia. Eight prison cells across the state were also searched.
Beard, 25, surrendered peacefully to Tulare County deputies at a Visalia Home. Uriate, 35, got into a shootout with ATF agents. Uriate was shot during the gun battle and taken to a nearby hospital, where he underwent surgery.
The suspect is expected to recover.
“I’m also thankful the murderer survived surgery,” Boudreaux said. “I’m hoping the death penalty moratorium is lifted and that at some point both these men face death.”
Beard could be in court as early as next week. Uriate could be arraigned from a hospital bed, which is being guarded by law enforcement.
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The murky path to justice
Tulare County District Attorney Tim Ward announced that charges were filed against the suspected killers.
The men are charged with six counts of murder in addition to multiple gang- and firearm-related charges. Additional charges could be brought against the men, depending on the evidence collected in Operation Nightmare, Ward said.
Uriate will also likely face federal charges after the gun battle with ATF agents.
The suspects could face the death penalty under the multiple murders special circumstance filed in these cases. However, there is a moratorium on the death penalty in California.
Ward has long lobbied for “truth in sentencing,” and spoke about the impact on the victims’ families.
“The fight for justice has just begun. (Survivors) need stamina to weather what happens next,” Ward said. “This case is not closure.”
The district attorney has been vocal on what he calls California’s “completely dysfunctional” death penalty.
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The death penalty was suspended by Gov. Gavin Newsom in March 2019. Prior to Newsom’s moratorium, the last California death penalty execution was in 2006.
The death penalty is often sought in hopes the defendant will be sentence to life without the possibility of parole. However, there are several laws that can further alter that sentence, including youth offender parole.
“(Truth in sentencing) doesn’t exist and we need to stop pretending like it does in our system,” Ward said.
He went on to reference a Tulare County family who was told decades ago that an offender wouldn’t be eligible for parole, but recently was released from prison.
“What do we tell families in this situation,” Ward said. “Knowing that the death penalty is broken in California … where are the victims’ voices in these so called reform changes?”
Boudreaux has repeatedly asked the governor, following this case, to lift the moratorium in cases where young children are killed.
Newsom recently responded to a reporter who also asked whether the governor would consider lifting the moratorium, in which he responded that he wanted to see perpetrators caught and the case closed.
"Governor, we've arrested the perpetrators. We've done our part," Boudreaux said. "We're asking that you do your part."
Boudreaux also had a massage for the community:
“Law enforcement works for you. We’re family. We’re human beings. Our hearts are broken in cases like this, as well. We’re not the enemy,” he said. “I want the citizens of Tulare County to sleep a little safer tonight knowing that these baby killing murderers are off the streets.”
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The nightmare
It's been nearly three weeks since the Parraz family was shot and killed at their Goshen home.
Around 3:30 a.m. on Jan. 16, gunshots erupted in the typically quiet neighborhood of Harvard Road. It was initially believed to be a shooting in progress because of the amount of gunfire heard.
When deputies arrived, they found two victims outside and a third near the doorway of the Goshen home. One victim was still alive when deputies arrived and was rushed to the hospital after CPR was performed. However, he later died.
The victims are believed to be family.
- Rosa Parraz, 72
- Alissa Parraz, 16
- Nycholas Parraz, 10 months
- Marcos Parraz, 19
- Eladio Parraz Jr., 52
- Jennifer Analla, 50
"Bringing a case like this together in less than 20 days … it's unheard of," Boudreaux said. "I almost feel as if God had his hand on this, protecting these two children (victims)."
Anyone with information is urged to call the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department at (559) 733-6218 or they can remain anonymous by calling or texting (559) 725-4194 or through email at tcso@tipnow.com.