The FBI reports that Joel Emiliano Carranza is wanted for his alleged involvement in the attack of two men. On January 1, 1999, Carranza and three accomplices allegedly jumped out of a van and attacked the two men as they were walking along a street in Campbell, California. The attack allegedly stemmed from an altercation between one of the men who were walking and one of Carranza’s relatives which occurred nearly a year earlier. During the attack, one of the men, Benjamin Smith suffered multiple stab wounds to the chest, one of which penetrated his heart and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The other victim survived the attack.
A local arrest warrant was issued for Carranza on January 6, 1999, by the Superior Court of the State of California, County of Santa Clara, Juvenile Court, wherein he was charged with murder. A federal arrest warrant was issued for Carranza on April 14, 1999, in the United States District Court, Northern District of California, San Jose, California, wherein he was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
Agents report that Carranza is thought to be in Mexico, possibly in either the Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, or Morelia, Michoacán, areas. He is thought to be married with at least one child, possibly a daughter.
Carranza may be seen with his father, Emiliano Carranza. The father, Emiliano Carranza is not a fugitive from the law.