Sheriff Mike Boudreaux explains the rise in reward dollars, gives information on cartels and known gang activity in Tulare County
GOSHEN – Two weeks after the massacre of a family in Goshen, the Tulare County Sheriff Office is continuing investigations and Sheriff Mike Boudreaux says arrests will be made in this case.
In a press conference held by the Tulare County Sheriff’s office on Jan. 30, Sheriff Boudreaux gave updates in relation to the massacre that left six individuals dead in their home in Goshen. Of the six found dead was a 16-year-old mother and her 10-month-old son.
Due mostly to donations from concerned citizens throughout the United States, the reward amount has gone up by $10,100. Boudreaux said it was confirmed that all six victims died as a result of gunshot wounds. Due to the “cartel-style execution,” investigators strongly believe the shooters in this case are gang related from the Central Valley. Boudreaux would like Gov. Gavin Newsom to lift the ban on the death penalty for cases with special circumstances.
“Arrests will be made in this investigation,” Boudreaux said. “Once they are, this is a message that I’m asking and sending to Governor Newsom. I would like him to lift the ban on the death penalty, in cases where small children are murdered. This should be a death penalty case.”
As far as the reward goes, the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms donated the original $10,000. Crimestoppers donated $5,000, along with a solo individual from New York who wished to stay anonymous. The remaining $100 comes from a woman in Maine who heard about the massacre and wanted to help in any way she could.
“The $100 was written by a Mrs. Lochman out of Maine,” Boudreaux said. “She wrote a letter in [which] she says that her heart was broken and she can’t send much, but what she can send, she’s sending and she wrote a $100 check.”
There was a previous child welfare service case involving the 16-year-old mother and her 10 month old baby who were both shot in the head. The baby boy was taken from his mother in the hospital three days after he was born. The reason given was the mother’s inability to provide sufficient care. Boudreaux said the mother was granted supervised monthly visits with her baby up until Jan. 13. Four days before the massacre, the young mother was granted full custody under Child Welfare Services.
Boudreaux reiterated that this massacre was executed in a “cartel style” manner. Cartels run across international lines, but California is an easy target for many reasons. Boudreaux explained drug trafficking operations (DTO’s) in the Central Valley are so predominant because of the several highways that run throughout. U.S Highway 99 runs from Jalisco, Mexico to Blain, Wash.; Interstate 5 runs from Mexico to Canada; Interstate 80 runs from San Francisco, Calif. to New York, NY; and U.S. Highway 50 which runs from West Sacramento, Calif. to Ocean City, Md. Not to mention that there are dozens of private and general aviation airports throughout the Central Valley that are left vulnerable to exploitation of drug traffickers according to TCSO.
“It is important that you see that we do have cartels operating. Many of these cartels work very closely with gangs,” Boudreaux said. “Gangs mostly operate in California and uniquely in the central San Joaquin Valley, closely associated with Mexican cartels.”
According to TCSO, in Tulare County, there are approximately 7,000 known gang members and associates, which includes Black, White, Asian, Hispanic members and drop-outs. The majority in Tulare County are Hispanic gang members and associates, over 3,000 Norteno and over 2,000 Sureno. With that there are over 30 hispanic gang subsets operating in Tulare County.
There are two main International Drug Trafficking Operations that operate throughout California, including the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Sinaloa Cartel. According to TCSO, the international drug trade trafficks wholesale drugs into the Valley and sells them locally. Some of the known local and regional DTO include the Nuestra Familia and the La Eme.
According to the TCSO, “both gangs have various subsets in the Central Valley including Tulare County.” Drugs are purchased by the two major Hispanic prison gangs in California who operate vastly throughout the county. The leaders of the organizations including those who are incarcerated receive revenue from the drug sales.
