Orosi Shooting Leads to Meth Lab Discovery
Three cousins were shot at but only one was hit in an incident that happened November 21 at around 1:30 in the afternoon in the 12700 block of Miller Avenue. Tulare Sheriffs responded to the residence and found a 24-year-old victim suffering from a non-threatening gunshot wound. Two others present at the time (it was later discovered the trio were cousins) were a 26-year-old and a 20-year-old, neither one injured in the melee.
The three, according to the sheriff’s report, were working on the interior of a vehicle in front of the residence when two males wearing black ski masks approached on foot and began firing at the three. Two of three were inside the vehicle and the 24-year-old was outside of it. The two suspects took off on foot and were seen, according to the report, getting into a black Honda four-door car with tinted windows. Victor Vizcarra Jr., 17, and a known gang member was later identified as one of the shooters.
The next day, while investigating the incident and searching for Vizcarra, deputies responded to the 39000 block of Road 172 to make contact with the homeowner. Upon walking up to the residence, deputies noticed a noticeable smell coming from the garage. One deputy, a prior member of the narcotics unit, identified the smell as that of coming from a methamphetamine lab.
He requested a search warrant and agents from several different taskforces arrived to assist in what they called “hazardous waste removal.” Located at the scene were sixty one gallon zip lock bags contain methamphetamine in varying weights from three quarters of a pound to two and a half pounds, methamphetamine in solution as well as chemicals and equipment for use in treating the meth. A total of 92 pounds of meth was seized, according to deputies.
The home was reportedly rented to Victor Meza Vizcarra Sr., age 38 of Arizona, the father of the man wanted in the shooting incident.
Deputies later learned that the father may have assisted his son in leaving the country. Deputies were given the identification of the second shooter, and served yet another search warrant in the 12600 block of Ira in Orosi. A 17-year-old known gang member was taken into custody on three counts of attempted homicide and booked into the juvenile justice center. Deputies are on the lookout for both Vizcarra men on charges stemming from the meth lab and the attempted homicide.
If you have any information in this case, you are asked to call the Sheriff’s Office at 800-808-0488 and refer to case number 12-14897. You can also send a text message or leave a voice message at 559-725-4194, or send an email to tcso@tipnow.com. Sgt. Chris Douglass, Public Information Officer for the Tulare County Sheriff’s Department said they were anxious to find the father-son pair. “Obviously, we need to get these guys off the streets,” she said.
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