SLAIN OFFICER WAS FRIEND, FAMILY MAN

BEAUMONT - Priscilla and Ed Khanoyan will never again look out their
window and see Sergio Carrera Jr. lovingly pull his young son and daughter
up and down the street in a little red wagon.

Carrera's friend and neighbor Paul Castro will never be able to stand
outside with his friend and chat about their children and share in the joy
of watching them grow.

Those moments will only be memories for the Khanoyans and Castro. They
talked on Thursday about their friend Carrera, a 4-year veteran of the
Rialto Police Department and a member of its SWAT team. Carrera was shot
in the head during the service of a search warrant at a residence in Rialto
where drug dealing was suspected. He was flown to Arrowhead Regional
Medical Center in Colton, where he died during surgery.

It was unclear who shot Carrera, but police arrested 32-year-old Jaranard
Thomas on suspicion of murdering a police officer. He tried to flee when
officers busted down his door and a struggle ensued before the shooting.

"We're going to miss him very much. He's going to leave a void in a lot of
people's lives," said Ed Khanoyan Friday at his home.

A Beaumont police officer sat in his patrol car parked across the street
from the

Carrera home on Friday, keeping news media at bay. Officers had been
working in rotations guarding the home since Thursday, the officer said,
declining to give his name.

Family and friends pulled up in cars throughout the day and filed into the
home.

Like most of the residents in this tight-knit neighborhood of tract homes
built about three years ago, the Khanoyans moved into their home about the
same time as the Carreras. Many of the residents got to know one another,
and Carrera was one of the more gregarious, introducing himself to his
neighbors and becoming active in the homeowner's association.

He helped Ed Khanoyan haul a 60-inch television into his home, not
expecting anything in return. Priscilla made him a batch of oatmeal raisin
cookies anyway.

"He didn't like putting people out. His parents brought him up right - to
have manners," Priscilla Khanoyan said.

They learned of Carrera's death through another neighbor Thursday
afternoon and were shocked by the news.

"One moment you're here, and the next moment it's " said Ed Khanoyan,
pausing. "We have to make every moment count. You never know how many
moments you have left."

Carrera doted on his 1-year-old daughter Izabella and 2-year-old son
Sergio III, and was seldom seen without them in his arms or at his side,
neighbors said.

"He was really family-oriented," said Castro, 43, who lived across the
street from Carrera and his wife, Louise. "Whenever we went over there, he
always had his son in his arms, and since his daughter came along, it's
been the same."

Like Castro, Carrera often kept his garage door open while home, and the
two would often see each other outside and get together to chat. They hit
it off. Both had family members who worked for the California Highway
Patrol, Castro said.

Carrera kept a vigorous workout schedule to stay in shape for work, and
aspired to bigger and better things, Castro said.

One of the things Castro remembers Carrera getting excited about was
applying for the SWAT team.

"I remember him telling me when he first applied to SWAT, and how excited
he was when he got it," Castro said. "He was the type of guy who always
seemed to strive for something better. He always took it to the next step."

Funeral services are pending.

"It's really sad that a person like that, that something like that would
happen to him," Castro said.