Man pleads guilty in 2018 Yuba City sword attack

Michaela Harris, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
·3 min read

Oct. 10—Parmvir Singh Gosal, 44, of Tracy pleaded guilty on Friday to charges stemming from a sword attack that occurred during the Sikh Parade in Yuba City on Nov. 4, 2018.

According to the Sutter County District Attorney's Office, Gosal pleaded guilty to charges related to the sword attack as well as charges resulting from a group beating of a key witness to the incident in 2019.

On the day of the attack, Gosal along with Manpreet Singh of Sacramento reportedly stabbed a 34-year-old Yuba City man during the 39th annual Sikh Festival. According to Appeal archives, police later determined that four suspects had attacked the man with swords and brass knuckles several times in the head and face, causing significant injury.

Gosal was charged with attempted murder, mayhem and two special allegation enhancements of causing great bodily injury. Singh was also charged with attempted murder.

In June 2019, nine men allegedly attacked a witness to the festival sword attack. Hirdephal Singh, Pritpal Gill, Jaskaran Singh, Narinder Singh, Surinder Kailey, Karanjeet Bisla, and Malkit Gosal were arrested and charged with assault or witness intimidation. While the attack on the witness allegedly occurred in Lathrop, the Sutter County District Attorney's Office received written jurisdiction for the case.

The sword attack and subsequent assault of a witness set off a chain of events, leading to a months-long, multi agency investigation into two rival criminal syndicates based in Stockton. In April, 17 people allegedly associated with these groups were arrested and over 40 firearms were seized.

Sutter County District Attorney Jennifer Dupré and other law enforcement officials previously said that the two groups were allegedly responsible for "numerous violent crimes and shootings" in Sutter, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, Yolo and Merced counties. Among the more high-profile alleged criminal actions were a mass shooting at a Stockton Sikh temple on Aug. 27, 2022, and another shooting at a Sacramento Sikh temple on March 23.

"For the past several years, the peaceful Sikh community has been plagued with acts of violence committed by two warring criminal syndicates," Dupré said previously. "These acts of violence began with fist fights and sword attacks at the Sikh parade in Yuba City in 2018 and have escalated to shooting, beginning with a shooting at a wedding party in September of 2021 here in Yuba City. Since then, these syndicates have been involved in an additional 10 shootings and 11 men total have been shot. These shootings include the five men shot outside the Sikh temple in Stockton in August of 2022, as well as the two men shot at the Sacramento Sikh parade on March 26 of this year."

Parmvir Singh Gosal pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon, dissuading a witness and criminal threats, among other other charges, the DA's Office said. He stipulated to a term of 17 years and eight months in prison. Gosal will have a sentencing hearing at the Sutter County Superior Court at 9 a.m. on Jan. 29, 2024.

"A huge thank you to Yuba City Police Department Detective Charan Singh, as well as the large number of law enforcement officers from not just Sutter County, but around Northern California, whose tireless dedication to the case and the victims resulted in justice finally being served," the DA's Office said on social media.