This house at 11 Valaire Drive shows effects in October from many bullet holes after two nearby parties got involved in a confrontation that left Robert Barraza dead.
District Attorney Candice Hooper and Sheriff Curtis Hill released a statement Thursday saying no arrests will be made in the October shooting death of Robert A. Barraza during a confrontation on Valaire Drive.
The actions of the shooter, referred to as a "victim" throughout the press release, have been ruled as self-defense. The narrative also sheds light on the chaotic nature of the confrontation among residents at two neighboring parties and notes that the man who killed Barraza had been shot in the back and he had attempted to stop a "battery" toward his friends at the party.
"Given the facts as we know them, it was reasonable for the victim to use this amount of force in defending himself from an aggressive individual, the decedent, when shots were being fired," reads the release in part.
Barraza's family members, meanwhile, on Thursday refuted authorities' statement on the narrative of events and expressed shock at the announcement there would be no charges.
The confrontation began Oct. 14 when the shooter - whom authorities never have called a suspect and whose name has been left unreported - heard noises and approached the front of his home, according to the statement. There, he saw an acquaintance involved in a fight with several people who had been attending a party on the same street. He attempted to break up the fight and was shot in the back during this attempt, the statement reads.
He then went into his home, retrieved a Glock 9mm and a shotgun, handed the latter off to a friend while instructing him to defend those in the home if anyone entered, and then went out the east side of his home to confront the assailants who had been shooting into the home for the entire time he was inside, according to authorities.
The assault had, by then, moved to the east side of the home, and the shooter ordered the assailants to leave his property, the statement reads. At this point, Barraza aggressively approached the shooter, who again ordered him off the property. According to the press release Barraza "responded in a negative manner and appeared to reach into his waist area as if attempting to retrieve a weapon." The shooter fired his weapon once, striking Barraza, who then fled with others, according to the statement.
The press release goes on to state that at least 21 shots were fired by the suspects from 21 Valaire, whereas the person who shot and killed Barraza fired that single time.
The statement also claims Barraza's shooter went outside to aid his friend and obtained his weapon only after he was shot, acted in a restrained manner once he had his weapon, gave proper verbal warning and fired when he was aggressively approached.
Hooper and Hill's statement then goes on to define self-defense, which includes justifiable homicide to prevent murder or great bodily harm on another person. Finally the statement reads that: "There will be no charges filed against the victim in this matter. If new evidence is provided to the San Benito County Sheriff's Office, the matter will be reconsidered."
"The sheriff gathered the information, and we believe we interpreted and represented them correctly," Hooper said.
Several members of Barraza's family, including his grandparents and mother, were visibly shocked by the news that there would be no arrest and by the accounting of the events in the press release.
"It's all wrong - none of this is true," said the grandfather, Robert Barraza Sr. The family limited their comments, asking for time to digest the information.
But Rose Barraza, the grandmother, added: "This investigation must be continued, and we have total community support behind us."
Robert A. Barraza's father, also named Robert Barraza, was contacted at county jail where he awaits trial for an arrest on Wednesday for several gun- and gang-related charges, but declined to speak with a Free Lance reporter.
Mickie Luna with the local chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens said she believed the investigation should stay open, perhaps through the California Attorney General's Office.
Hill was out of town and could not be reached for comment before press time.
Jeff Gatlin Jeff Gatlin is a staff writer at The Hollister Free Lance. You can call him at (831) 637-5566 or send him an email.
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