Barraza was shot to death Oct. 14 during a gun battle outside a
house party on Valaire Drive.
The bullet that killed 21-year-old Robert Anthony Barraza eight months ago continues to wait inside a California Department of Justice crime lab for a ballistics test that local authorities most recently said they expected done two weeks ago.
Barraza was shot to death Oct. 14 during a gun battle outside a house party on Valaire Drive. Although Sheriff Curtis Hill has said he knows who killed the man, no arrests have been made because scientific tests to determine who fired the fatal shot have not been started.
Shortly after the shooting, San Benito County Undersheriff Pat Turturicci said he expected the ballistics tests to be done in 10 to 14 days. Last month he said he said he had “never dreamed” seven months would go by without results.
Four weeks ago sheriff’s Sgt. Tom Keylon – the case’s lead investigator – said lab officials had estimated it would be done in two weeks.
Juan Bergado, supervisor at the DOJ Freedom Crime Lab in Watsonville, this week defended his office and reiterated his claim that the lab is overwhelmed.
“We’re in a situation where we’re trying to analyze something and we’re doing the best that we can,” he said.
Bergado has said that a “priority system” exists at the lab. Testing for cases headed to court gets done before testing for others with no set court date.
District Attorney Candice Hooper today said she cannot file charges until she receives a report from the sheriff’s office.
Hooper declined to “comment on other people’s business practices” and had no intention of attempting to speed up the case’s progress.
“I know (the DOJ crime lab) has a heavy case load, and they have to prioritize things,” she said.
