State and local authorities searched Robert Barraza Sr.’s home
Tuesday and turned up firearms concealed at various locations in
the residence.
HOLLISTER
The father of a 21-year-old man killed during an October gun fight has been charged with six felony counts on suspicion of being a convicted felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. He faces an additional count for having the weapons, authorities allege, for the benefit of a street gang, according to a press statement released this week by the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office.
State and local authorities searched Robert Barraza Sr.’s home Tuesday and turned up firearms concealed at various locations in the residence. He was arrested and charged, and Judge Steven Sanders set his bail at $1 million with a further order to examine the source of the money if it’s offered up.
The search of Barraza’s home was part of an investigation into California criminal street gangs by the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement and with assistance of local agencies, according to the statement.
His arrest came two days before District Attorney Candice Hooper and Sheriff Curtis Hill announced in a statement there would be no charges related to the October shooting death of Barraza’s son, Robert Barraza Jr., outside a house party.
Hooper and Hill’s statement contends that the shooter from a neighboring party acted in self-defense, he went to retrieve guns only after getting shot in the back, he was attempting to stop a “battery” toward his friends, and that he fired at Barraza when it appeared he had been reaching toward his waist.
Authorities after Barraza’s death asserted he might have had gang ties – which his family refuted.
About a month after his son died, Barraza Sr. was shot in the abdomen in a drive-by, and authorities suspected it was gang related.
