Was fatal Empire shooting a murder or self-defense? Victim’s family seeks answers
It’s been six weeks since 28-year-old Tyler Parks was fatally shot in Empire. No suspects have been charged, though an “involved individual” has since been booked into jail on separate charges.
The shooting occurred the night of July 1 in the 400 block of B Street, about a block from the home Parks shared with his mother.
Parks’ sister, Tanner Bredal, said her brother went to that location because his girlfriend was there with another man.
Bredal said Parks went to confront them and the man shot him in the back of the head, then fled the scene.
Parks’ girlfriend called his mother and she rushed to the scene to find him unresponsive in his vehicle. She wrapped a jacket around her son’s bleeding head and held him until an ambulance arrived, Bredal said.
Bredal said the man who shot her brother is 47-year-old Paul Rosas.
Sgt. Luke Schwartz, a spokesman for the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department, called Rosas an “involved individual” rather than a suspect.
“Our detectives are still investigating ... they have turned their findings over to the District Attorney’s Office and are awaiting a decision regarding the legality of that incident,” he said.
Schwartz would not comment further but Bredal said investigators told her that Rosas is claiming self-defense and that Parks used his vehicle as a weapon.
A surveillance video from Rosas’ home the night of the shooting circulated through the neighborhood and made it to Parks’ family. The video, shared with The Bee, shows a vehicle, reportedly driven by Parks, back up and then pull forward several times, reportedly toward Rosas.
Bredal questions why Rosas didn’t turn around and go inside his home. She questions how, if he was in fear of being run over, he was able to shoot Parks from behind. She said the doctor who treated her brother in the hospital told the family Parks was shot at such close range, there were bullet fragments on his chest and shoulder.
Stanislaus County case under review
A spokesperson for the District Attorney’s Office said the case remains under review.
On Aug. 6, Rosas was booked into the Stanislaus County Jail on charges of violating the terms of his post-release community supervision.
Court records show he is on PRCS for being a felon in possession of ammunition for a 2019 conviction. The Bee asked the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department to inquire with Rosas if he wanted to comment for the story but the request could not be fulfilled because he is on a 14-day quarantine, which is standard for all new bookings due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stanislaus County Chief Probation Officer Mark Ferriera said Rosas was booked for failing to report to his probation officer on two separate occasions beginning in July and for possessing a firearm.
Ferriera said he couldn’t comment further, but a source close to the investigation said the firearm possession by Rosas was reported to Probation by another law enforcement agency the day of the homicide. Rosas, who is being held without bail, has a hearing on the matter Tuesday.
Parks died in the hospital when he was taken off life support a few days after the shooting. His heart, lungs, liver and kidneys were donated to five people in Southern California and the Bay Area, Bredal said.
She said she knew that’s what her brother would have wanted because he was a kind soul. She said he would often give money to people who are homeless or offer a place to shower or a couch to sleep on for friends in need. He knew what it was like to struggle and helped out when he could.
Bredal said the day before he was killed, Parks, who worked for a Modesto event planning company, surprised all of his co-workers by buying them lunch.
She cried as she recalled the story because she said it was one of many that people she didn’t even know have told her about her brother’s generosity.
Bredal also said her brother had a good sense of humor and enjoyed making people laugh. He liked to play video games and work out. He adored his two dogs. But above all else, he loved his mom.
“He was 110% a mama’s boy,” she said. “Even at 28, he’d say ‘I love you’ to her every time he walked out the door and every time he went to bed.”
Bredel said their mother is struggling with Parks’ death and they are hoping for justice. She said an investigator with the DA’s office has spoken to the family but the case still hasn’t been reviewed.
This story was originally published August 17, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
