Two Arrested For the Killing of Six, Including a Baby, in Central California

"HEARST" and "Socalj" for Borderland Beat

Two suspects were arrested for the recent murder of 6, including a teen mother and her infant in Goshen, California. 

On February 3, 2023, Tulare County law enforcement held a press conference in which they announced they had arrested two men who are suspected of attacking and killing 6 people in the town of Goshen, California. That event is covered in further detail in this previous story. 

The two men are Noah David Beard, 25 years old, and Angel Uriarte, 35 years old. According to CBS News, both men have alleged ties to Norteños-associated gangs. 

More Information on the Attacks

Tulare County Sheriff, Mike Boudreaux, presented an audio clip of the 911 call made during the attack by a woman who was hiding inside a trailer on the property. The caller is initially quiet and hard to hear, but the following is the official transcript of what was said. 

Operator: 911, how may I help you?

Caller: Hello.

Operator: Hello, ma’am, do you have an emergency?

Caller: Yeah.

Operator: What’s going on?

Caller: On Harvest in Goshen, shots fired.

Operator: Do you live in an apartment or is this the home?

Caller: A home, home, hurry.

Operator: What’s going on?

Caller: They shot my boyfriend. They keep shooting outside. I don’t know if they’re still here. I’m scared because they’re still shooting outside. Please hurry, please. I don’t know where they are now [gasp] - they’re still shooting.

Operator: They’re still shooting?

Caller: Yes. Hurry, please. They’re coming back. They’re coming back. They’re coming back in.

Operator: Who’s coming back in?

Caller: The guys. Please hurry, c’mon. Do you hear them? Someone else is screaming now.

[Shots heard.]

Caller: [Gasp] Now! That’s them. They’re shooting in the house.

Operator: What do you hear now?

Caller: Nothing. I don’t know if they’re out there. I’m too scared. I hear sirens coming. Thank you. My boyfriend - he is on the floor. He is shot in the stomach.

Operator: Is he breathing?

Caller: Is he breathing? I don’t know. He’s still breathing. He’s still breathing. Hold on, baby. Hold on, please.

Operator: We have help on the way, OK? I have an officer right around the corner.

Caller: [speaking to injured boyfriend] It’s OK, baby, you’re going to make it. You’re gonna make it. They’re here. They’re here. They’re here. 

Caller: [speaking to officers] Come in here. Come here, watch your feet. They’re here with me, OK.

Operator: You did a great job, ma’am. Good luck.

Police believe they have now determined the order in which the victims were attacked. Initially, the two attackers approached the door of the main house and killed Eladio Parraz, 52 years old, then Marcos Parraz, 19 years old. 

The attackers then shot Jennifer Analla, 50 years old, while she was sleeping, followed by Rosa Parraz, 72 years old. Rosa was said to have been shot in the head while she was kneeling next to her bed. 

16-year old mother Alissa Parraz and her 10 month old baby were killed next. During the press conference, law enforcement presented never-before-seen surveillance video from the attack which shows Alissa scrambling to get her baby to safety. 

The footage cuts out before the attackers start shooting at the mother and child. 

In the footage, Alissa can be seen running across a driveway, to a wood fence, with her infant son Nycholas clasped to her chest. The Los Angeles Times writes that the gate to the fence was locked. 

She hoists her baby over the fence and lowered him onto something on the other side. She then runs towards a lower chain link fence and jumps over it - just as one of the attackers appears, chasing after her, raising a gun in right hand.

The sheriff said that both Alissa and her baby were shot in the back of the head. law enforcement authorities say they have identified Noah David Beard as the gunman who allegedly shot Alissa and Nycholas. 

It's important to note that authorities stated in the press conference that “two people in the house were gang members.”

Eladio Parraz has been reported by multiple publications as having Sureño gang ties noted in criminal record. It is not currently known if the additional Sureño gang member is one of the unnamed survivors of the attack or if it was Marcos Parraz, 19, who was killed during the massacre. 

Just weeks prior to the attack, Eladio had been arrested after a parole violation search at the house where Tulare Sheriffs discovered drugs and several weapons. He was released on bail shortly after.

The Investigation

Tulare Sheriff Mike Boudreaux revealed that law enforcement discovered DNA evidence (likely blood) at the scene of the crime that did not match any of the victims. The ATF forensic labs in Maryland expedited the DNA analysis and it was used to positively identify the suspects. 

Sheriff Boudreaux said that they narrowed in on the suspects and began surveilling them by January 23, just six days after the attack occurred. He maintained that the general public was never at risk due to their “constant surveillance” of the suspects. 

“We knew every move they were making,” Boudreaux said. “We had them under our wing - where we wanted them.”

It's unclear if the DNA evidence was used to confirm the identity of men already suspected or if it was used, through genetic genealogy, to identify the suspects who might have suspected radar prior. 

Tulare County Sheriff Boudreaux initially claimed the homicides were “cartel-related” but he later walked back his statement, alleging “I’m not saying this is a cartel, but I am not eliminating that possibility.”

During the most recent press conference, Sheriff Boudreaux claimed that his initial allegation about it being cartel-related was a planned misdirection, saying “We released information to the media on purpose. We mentioned cartels. We mentioned gang members up and down the state of California, the potential of them trying to get out of the country. [The suspects] felt we weren’t focusing on them.”

Operation Nightmare 

During the predawn hours of February 3, 2023, the ATF’s Special Response Team conducted three simultaneous raids on properties in the towns of Goshen and Visalia, which aimed to capture and arrest the two suspects: Noah David Beard and Angel Uriarte. 

Angel Uriarte shot back at federal agents and engaged in a gun battle with them at a property in Goshen. The agents managed to inflict a gunshot wound on Uriarte, who subsequently surrendered and was arrested. 

ATF medics on site administered first aid to him, as seen in the photo below, and he was transferred to a hospital where he received surgery for the gunshot injury, which he is expected to survive. The Sheriff said that Uriarte could face charges of assault on a federal officer because of his attack against the ATF agents. 

Noah David Beard was said to have been arrested without incident.

The Suspects

During the press conference, the Sheriff described both suspects as being “validated Norteño gang members.”

“Validated gang members” is a California Department of Corrections-specific term for those who have been documented (either in court and/or in prison) as having a particular gang affiliation.

This “validation” is usually based on prison intake interviews, photographs, tattoos, and court and police records. The validation process is controversial and multiple lawsuits have been filed against the California Department of Corrections which aim to do away with the system.

Angel Uriarte, sometimes called "Nanu", has his hometown of Goshen tattooed across his back and the region’s phone number prefix 651 tattooed down his arm. 

Uriarte’s criminal history began in 2000 and it includes: 

Priors for possession of a controlled substance for sales

Possession of firearms

Resisting arrest possession of stolen property 

Previous gang enhancement

Assault with a deadly weapon 

Uriarte was convicted in 2015 of assault with a firearm in association with a street gang. 

Noah David Beard, who is from Visalia and originally from Kansas, has a criminal history that began back in 2012 which includes: 

Priors for assault with a deadly weapon

Burglary

Robbery

Conspiracy

Resisting arrest

Possession of stolen property 

Possession of stolen vehicles

Possession of firearms

Assault with a deadly weapon

Prison Gang Cells Searched

Another part of Operation Nightmare was the search of 16 prisoners and their 8 prison cells, located in various California prisons (North Kern, Corcoran, Folsom and Pelican Bay). These prisoners were allegedly selected due to their affiliation with the Nuestra Familia prison gang - the sponsor and power behind the Norteños - a flag under which many northern California Hispanic gangs fall under.

Nuestra Familia’s rival prison organization is similarly the Mexican Mafia, often called La eMe, who are the sponsor and power behind the Sureños - a flag under which many southern California Hispanic gangs fall under). For more details on this, please see this previous story.

In these 8 prison cells, investigators were likely looking for any evidence of communication related to the Goshen attack or communications that mention the two suspects. Any evidence found in the prison cells hasn’t been announced and will likely only be revealed during trials, or through additional court documents.  

Prison gang leaders communicate through a variety of methods - such as phone calls, prison visits, coded letters, and even through corrupt attorneys. These communications usually begin as notes, or “kites”, which are passed around between cells. 

The top leaders of Nuestra Familia and the Mexican Mafia are believed to control street gangs from communications given within prison.  It's possible the orders to kill Eladio Parraz in Goshen originated from one of the four California prisons searched.

As some historical context, Nuestra Familia used to be structured around a “Mesa'' of five generals. All five of these generals were imprisoned at the Pelican Bay State Prison, which included a security housing unit (SHU) designed for gang leaders and dangerous inmates. Under these generals were a series of regiments, which an emissary or paroled gang member (either colonels or lieutenants) would control on behalf of the general.

In 2001, federal authorities attempted to dismantle the power of the five generals by transferring all of them to prisons located outside of California, which effectively stripped them of their power. This led to a power struggle as Nuestra Familia members all vied to take control in the leadership vacuum the prison transfers left behind. David Cervantes, known as “DC”, eventually emerged as the sole leader of the Nuestra Familia.

Rules of Conduct 

Both the Mexican Mafia and Nuestra Familia have rules of conduct for their members and gangs under their control. One of these rules is to not harm children. As an example of how such rules are handed down and carried out, we can turn to a similar case that occurred in 1995 in El Monte, California. 

In the 1980s, Mexican Mafia member Anthony Moreno, alias “Dido”, chose to leave the organization. At a later point, a Mexican Mafia member named Raymond "Huero Shy" Shryock handed down the order to kill Dido because he was “ripping off drug connections”. The order was given to El Monte Flores gang member, Luis Maciel, alias "Pelon".

Pelon decided to outsource the killing, hiring Sangra gang members Jimmy Palma, alias "Character", and Richard Valdez, alias "Primo", to do the deed. Pelon personally drove the two men to Dido’s neighborhood and pointed out his house. Pelon instructed the men to leave no witnesses. 

When the hit occurred, Dido was indeed killed, as well as Gus "Tito" Aguirre but also killed were Dido's sister, his five-year-old and 6-month-old nieces, who were specifically shot by Jimmy Palma.

The Mexican Mafia’s policy against killing children was introduced during the trial of Palma and Valdez as a way to assert the personal initiative taken by the two men in killing the children. 

Both Valdez and Palma were convicted and sentenced to death, along with Pelon. Jimmy Palma was fatally stabbed by another prisoner just four months after entering death row in 1997. The Mexican Mafia was said to have ordered his death for killing children.

Direct Sources: Full Video of February 3 Press Conference, District Attorney’s Press Release, ATF San Francisco's Tweet 

Goshen Sources: Los Angeles Times Article 1, Article 2, New York Times, ABC30, CBS News, BakersfieldNow, NPR

Cali Gangs Sources: Visalia Times Delta, Monterey Herald, Stanford.edu, SGV Tribune, Los Angeles Times, Court Records

Click here to read the full warrant for the two suspects