“HEARST” and “SoCalJ” for Borderland Beat
The Attack
At approximately 3:35 am on the night of January 17, 2023, residents of a Harvest Avenue home spotted two unknown male intruders sneaking onto their property on surveillance camera feeds.
Evidence found on scene suggests that the intruders either kicked or pushed in the door of the main residence and, then, quickly shot a man near the doorway. The intruders continued further inside and shot two men and an elderly woman.
The elderly woman was later found deceased in her bed and Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux told reporters that, “it appeared she was shot in her sleep.”
While this attack was occurring, two women hid inside a trailer home next to the main residence and dialed 911 for help. The emergency line phone call came in at about 3:38am, according to the Los Angeles Times.
A 17-year-old mother appears to have tried to run away from the main residence, clutching her baby to her chest, however, one of the intruders caught up with her outside. [It was later confirmed by the Sheriff that the teenager was actually 16.]
One of the women told the 911 operator that “a male, Larry, shot her boyfriend,” and that “she believes somebody may be inside the house. She’s scared.”
Other 911 calls from neighbors started coming in reporting the sound of gunshots. The report was initially filed as an active shooter situation due to the amount of gunfire heard.
Officers arrived on scene and found the mother and child dead in the street. They then searched the home and found the 4 victims inside. A deputy requested 6 ambulances from the dispatcher.
Only one, a male, was ultimately found to still have vital signs. He was given CPR and rushed to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead soon after being admitted.
Initially, authorities did not release the names or ages of all the victims, but said it appeared some were family members.
The two women who hid inside the trailer managed to survive the attack and give further details. They say that “by the time they [the intruders] came on to [the video feed], it was too late to do anything.”
Authorities are currently searching for two suspects for the attack. Although the intruders primarily focused on one residence, the Los Angeles Times says that the attack occurred “in and around three neighboring residences.”
The “manner and swiftness” of the murders suggested experienced killers, Sheriff Boudreaux said, “If they are specifically shooting everyone in the head, they know what they are doing… they are comfortable with what they are doing.”
He continued, “I think it’s specifically connected to the cartel. The level of violence … this was not your run-of-the-mill low-end gang member.”
The Locational Context
The attack occurred within Goshen, a town near Visalia, which is located in central California, in the United States. Goshen lies north of the city of Los Angeles and south of the city of Fresno, which is only about a half hour drive away.
The 99 Freeway runs through the town and many articles note that Tulare County, which Goshen lies in, plays an “outsized” role in the smuggling of drug shipments coming from Mexico up as they head to distribution points farther north in the US.
Goshen is an agricultural town in a region primarily known as farmland. In 2020, the population of Tulare County was estimated to be about 470,000 and it often hosts groups of migratory farm workers. Goshen, however, is only estimated to have about 5,000 residents.
According to the Los Angeles Times, “the area has been home to the production of meth and the cultivation of marijuana, both legal and illegal.”
Law enforcement authorities have not disclosed the exact location of the home where the attack occurred; however, ABC30 has quoted the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office as saying it occurred “on Harvest Avenue between Road 68 and Kame Drive.” The Times of San Diego specifies that the house was on the “6800s block” of Harvest Avenue.
There are only four properties in the area described and only two of these are technically in the “6800s block” of Harvest Avenue. These two are the houses #6834 and #6844.
When this area is looked at on Google Earth, it becomes clear that many residences on this block and the blocks nearby are being used for… let’s say some suspicious agricultural endeavors. Or, to put it more plainly, some houses may allegedly be functioning as illegal marijuana grow houses.
How do we know these grows are illegal?
The current law in California states that each residence is allowed a maximum of 6 plants and anything over 6 plants requires a cannabis cultivation license with the state, permits from the local area and must take place in specifically zoned areas, none of which are in residential areas.
The Gangs in California
Tulare County sits at the border of the geographic dividing lines between Southern California and Central California.
This geographic line also largely dictates the dividing lines of rival Hispanic gangs in the state. In southern California, Mexican gangs fall under the Sureño umbrella, which is controlled by the Mexican Mafia prison gang.
The Mexican Mafia, sometimes called La eMe, have long had ties to Mexican drug cartels.
Meanwhile, the northern part of the state aligns under the Norteños flag and the gangs are controlled by Nuestra Familia, an offshoot and fierce enemy of the Mexican Mafia.
Central California often acts as a battleground area in the war between these two groups. The traditional territory cut-off line was believed to be Bakersfield, with any area above Bakersfield (such as Goshen and Visalia) falling into Norteño territory.
That being said, cut-off lines are often fluid and there are currently pockets of Sureños within Visalia and Goshen.
Additionally, Fresno, which is just half an hour away from Goshen, has its own independent Hispanic gang, the Fresno Bulldogs, which fights against both Sureños and Norteños.
The Fresno Bulldogs are the largest independent gang in the state of California, with their membership estimated to be between 12,000 – 40,000. The gang has adopted the local university’s colors and mascot as their own. Bulldog members are known for barking at possible rivals in public.
Much like their counterparts, their main source of income stems from street-level drug sales, including substances like marijuana, heroin and methamphetamine.
The Raid The Week Before
One of the homes that was hit by the attack was raided by law enforcement the week prior. The search warrant was conducted by a narcotics unit of the sheriff’s department and it resulted in one arrest and the seizure of guns, marijuana and methamphetamine.
The man who was arrested in that raid may be one of the three deceased male victims. The Los Angeles Times wrote that “DNA testing will be required to identify at least one of the men because of damage done to his face by the gun or guns used.”
This speaks to one possible motive behind the crime.
It is possible that after the property was raided, the man arrested was presented with a deal. The man may have been told that he could face less criminal charges if he agreed to give over information on a higher-up who owns/organizes the grow house.
If he had agreed to this deal, the higher-up may have gotten word of this betrayal and sent two hitmen to murder the family as retaliation.
This is just one potential, non-law enforcement theory of the case among many others.
UPDATES
At 1PM (PST), Sheriff Boudreaux gave an official press conference to provide additional information and correct earlier statements.
The primary corrections were to that of the ages of teenage mother Evanna Perrez, who is actually 16 years old; and her daughter is 10 months old. She had been running from the scene when she and her baby were shot and killed. Her killer stood over her when delivering a final gunshot to her head. The teen was from Northern California and had been living with her father’s side of the family in Goshen for the last year.
The Sheriff of Tulare County, who is also the Vice President of the California Sheriff’s Association detailed the killings of the 6 family members, with 3 victims having survived the attacks:
72-year-old Rosa Parraz
52-year-old Eladio Parraz Jr.
50-year-old Jennifer Analla
19-year-old Marcos Parraz
16-year-old Alissa Parraz
10-month-old Nycholas Parraz
Two weeks prior, on January 3, 2023, Tulare County Sheriffs conducted a parole compliance check on Eladio Parraz Jr. at that residence. The house was known for its history of gang activity. The deputies saw shell casings on the floor and obtained a search warrant discovering numerous weapons, including automatic weapons as well as marijuana and methamphetamine. Eladio Parraz Jr. was a convicted felon and therefore was charged with being a felon in possession of ammunition and firearms including a short-barrel rifle, an assault weapon, as well as possessing a controlled substance.
4 days later, on January 7, Eladio posted bail and returned home. However, the Sheriff stated that they do not believe that Eladio was the initial intended target.
[It is possible that one of the surviving men was the primary target of the killings, and they don’t want to release that information yet.]
A $10,000 reward has been offered for any information on the deadly shootings. But according to the Sheriff’s Department, that reward will soon increase. The ATF, DEA, FBI, DOJ, HSI, and California Department of Corrections are assisting with the investigation. The Dept. of Corrections has its own gang unit. The Sheriff asked for public help, with possible video footage but stated that authorities know ‘a lot’ about who is behind the killings but is unable to provide some of that information due to the investigation.
He also stated that the massacre was gang-related based on what they know and due to the manner of the executions it could be cartel-related, or a combination of both. Investigations have grown outside of Tulare County, also stating that the connections of gangs and cartels stretch outside of their county across the state.
Sources: Los Angeles Times, ABC News, NBC Los Angeles, Times of San Diego, Daily Mail, Your Central Valley, ABC30, Visalia Times Delta