Citing what he calls the sub-theme of a
”
strong tradition of not cooperating with law enforcement
”
by witnesses, Sheriff Curtis Hill contended District Attorney
Candice Hooper made the right decision last week against
prosecuting the shooter who killed Robert Barraza Jr. in
October.
Citing what he calls the sub-theme of a “strong tradition of not cooperating with law enforcement” by witnesses, Sheriff Curtis Hill contended District Attorney Candice Hooper made the right decision last week against prosecuting the shooter who killed Robert Barraza Jr. in October.
The sheriff commented extensively on Hooper’s decision – announced in a joint press release with Hill – not to prosecute the shooter in Barraza’s death and on the reaction of his family, members of whom have refuted details about the confrontation and follow-up probe. He also talked about the investigation’s delay while authorities awaited ballistic results on the bullet from a state crime lab and noted how they had to hold off on finishing the probe because there were so many people at the scene firing guns that it made it more difficult to solidify their report.
Hill also responded, when asked, about Sgt. Tom Keylon’s comment in early April while investigators awaited the bullet results that the department had been “very close” to making an arrest.
“We were looking into witness statements and waiting on ballistics, which took seven months to complete their report,” he said. “At the time the indication was that Robert Barraza was killed by the victim in this matter. There were so many people at the scene firing guns that we had to wait for ballistics before proceeding.
“Now we are sure the victim was the shooter, so we turned the matter over to the D.A., who made the decision not to prosecute.”
The sheriff went on to say that Hooper looked long and hard at all pertinent information examining case law and different precedents – all of which led her to believe that the shooting was justified.
Barraza’s grandfather Robert Barraza Sr. last week made a brief statement representing the family, saying, “It’s all wrong – none of this is true.” But Barraza Jr.’s family declined to comment further Monday. Hooper defended her decision following last week’s statement by saying the sheriff’s office gathered the information and that her office “interpreted and represented” it correctly.
“That is unfortunate that they would say that,” Hill said of the grandfather’s reaction. “There was an extreme, extreme notice that – I said ‘extreme’ twice – lack of cooperation from people on the scene of this situation, some of whom were family members. We had them in the station, they brought an attorney, sat down and we had a tape recorder turned on sitting on the table in front of them.
“We asked them to cooperate, and they refused. Our job is to get the correct facts. The sub-theme here is a strong tradition of not cooperating with law enforcement.”
Barraza was killed October 14 during the confrontation between two groups at neighboring parties on Valaire Drive after a confrontation turned into a gunfight and ultimately resulted in the death.
Authorities’ statement describes how the 11 Valaire Drive gunman went to retrieve a Glock 9mm from a safe inside the home – after being shot in the back – and how that resident left a back door to the east side of the house. The press release states that he again tried to stop the battery and ordered the suspects to leave his property. He was unsuccessful and, when he thought it appeared Barraza had been approaching aggressively and reaching toward his waist as if attempting to reach a weapon, he shot him, according to the statement.
“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 by individuals associated with the decedent and shots were continuing to be shot at the victim’s house, at his friends and at the victim himself,” the statement reads.
Hill invited family members, some of whom he asserted were there that night, to come forward with the information they have.
“What happens is we don’t get the cooperation, and then this malaise sets in where they claim that the investigation is not thorough or that it was incompetently performed,” said Hill, who offered family members condolences for his death. “We want all the facts and statements we can get.”
When reached on the phone and asked to respond to Hill’s statements, Rachel Barraza, the mother, said she had talked it over with the family and they collectively had decided not to make any comments.
“I feel sad for the family,” Hill said. “This is a tragedy. But if you want to have that position, of not cooperating, in regard to the death of a family member, that is unfortunate.”
Hill noted how the matter was investigated as a homicide, defined as one person killing another.
“A homicide did occur that night, but it has been ruled as justifiable by the district attorney, and I support that decision,” he said.
Asked if the shooter would be prosecuted for having unregistered guns in his possession, he replied: “Look, this is a homicide. Let’s talk about the homicide.” Hill also confirmed authorities never found a gun on Barraza.
Considering the mayhem among shooters that night – authorities estimated more than 20 shots fired – Hill said it was “amazing” there weren’t more injuries that night.
“And maybe there were,” he said. “Maybe some people were shot and managed to crawl away before police arrived. All of this happened in a matter of just a few minutes. At the time when the assailants were shooting into the house, witnesses state that there was still an assault going on on the ground in the front yard.
“Statements indicate that those shooting into the house were also shooting into the pile of people rolling around on the ground. I have never been to a location where more shots were fired.”
Hill said such violence is caused by “inferences of disrespect.”
“Instead of minding their own business, people get caught up because of someone’s tone of voice or their attitude,” he said. “If they feel disrespected, they feel like they need to answer back, but they should just be minding their own business. The victim was in his own home when he heard the noises of his acquaintance being assaulted. He didn’t initiate anything.”
