Robert Anthony Barraza died early Sunday morning after being
shot during an altercation between two groups of people on Valaire
Drive, the Sheriff’s Office reported. With up to six gunmen
involved, authorities are investigating who shot Barraza.
Hollister – Alcohol, guns and confrontation left a 21-year-old Hollister man dead early Sunday morning after more than 30 gunshots were fired outside of a house party on Valaire Drive, the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office reported. Another man, a suspect in the killing, was also sent to the hospital with a gunshot wound.
Robert Anthony Barraza died early Sunday morning after being shot during an altercation between two groups of people on Valaire Drive, the Sheriff’s Office reported. With up to six gunmen involved, authorities are investigating who shot Barraza.
Authorities said Barraza may be a gang member. Family members, however, contended he was not.
On Monday, dozens of Barraza’s friends and family members gathered at his parents’ Hollister home to pay respects and remember the young man they described as respectful, likeable, dependable, hard working and an excellent student.
Charlie Gomez, a family friend, said Barraza was always the life of the party.
“It’s easy to say these things when a person is gone,” Gomez said. “But these were things that were said when he was here.”
An autopsy was completed Monday, and the bullet removed from Barraza will be sent to the state Department of Justice today for analysis, Undersheriff Pat Turturici said. Results are expected within a week to 10 days, he said.
Another man, who the Sheriff’s Office has declined to identify but who lived at 11 Valaire Drive, was sent to a Bay Area hospital where he remains in serious condition with a gunshot wound, Turturici said. The man, in his early 20s, is also a suspect in Barraza’s death as he admitted to firing a gun from his home shortly after being shot himself, deputies said.
The shooting occurred a block away from the Hollister Fire Department’s Union Road station in an unincorporated part of the county. Beer cans were scattered at both residences, authorities reported.
“It was a recipe for disaster – alcohol and weapons,” Turturici said.
It was the fourth homicide in San Benito County this year.
Byron Byers, a Valaire Drive resident, said he awoke to the gunfire about 2am Sunday. He said he heard about 30 gunshots total.
“I thought it was a dream at first,” Byers said.
Byers said a fight broke out between his two neighbors, one of whom was hosting a 21st birthday party. The 29-year-old said he saw people shooting guns into the home at the southeast end of Valaire Drive and people running and driving away from the area.
Turturici said authorities believe a 25-year-old Hollister resident, who rode a bicycle there to visit 11 Valaire Drive, was yelled at and approached by a Hispanic man from the party at 21 Valaire Drive. Turturici said the 25-year-old man told the other man to go away and pushed him.
Barraza’s family members say racial slurs were hurled from 11 Valaire Drive toward party-goers, who were primarily of Hispanic origin. Turturici said no slurs had been reported to the Sheriff’s Office.
According to witness statements, the man went next door to the party, brought back three friends and began to attack the 25-year-old.
Turturici said the man who lived at 11 Valaire Drive came outside and was shot in his side. The man went back inside his home, retrieved a gun and fired a shot, possibly hitting Barraza, Turturici said.
Deputies confiscated multiple guns from the residence, Turturici said, but he would not specify how many.
Investigators believe the guns belong to the man who was shot, Turturici said. The gun authorities suspect the wounded man fired from 11 Valaire Drive was not registered, he said.
A San Jose police officer rents a room at 11 Valaire Drive and stays there sporadically, but was “not involved in anyway with the shooting,” Turturici said.
“He was not home at the time,” Turturici said. “He was on duty in San Jose.”
Officer Rosie Betanio, a spokeswoman for the Hollister Police Department, said Barraza could have ties to the Norteño street gang.
“We’re still investigating whether he was a gang member,” Turturici said.
Barraza’s family said he was no gang member.
“He was a good brother,” said his sister, Desiree Barraza. “He was a good son.”
Barraza’s parents, Rachel and Robert Barraza Jr., were at the party when he was shot, his family said, and he died in their arms.
His grandfather, Robert Barraza Sr., said the young Barraza was a hard worker and had joined a union for heavy equipment operators.
Barraza had recently received a raise at his job in Milpitas, bought a truck and was preparing to celebrate his 22nd birthday, family members said. He graduated from San Benito High School in 2004.
“Robert Barraza proved he was a very good worker and a very quick learner,” Barraza Sr. said.
Funeral arrangements are being planned, and a service will take place at Black-Cooper-Sander Funeral Home, family members said.
Robert Anthony Barraza is survived by his mother and father, Robert and Rachel Barraza; his sister, Desiree Barraza; his grandparents, Robert and Rose Barraza, and Mary Garcia and Richard Casarez; and his great aunt, Mitzi Morales.
