A federal grand jury in Orange County, California, has indicted 31 Mexican Mafia gang members and associates in a racketeering case involving three murders and six attempted murders, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced Wednesday.
Prosecutors aim to bring down the gang’s leadership with charges against defendants Johnny Martinez, Robert Aguirre, and Dennis Ortiz, who operated a narcotics ring in and out of prisons and jails, the office said. The trio is alleged to have ordered the murders of fellow gang members and others violating the Mexican Mafia’s code.
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“The Mexican Mafia in Orange County controls the majority of local gangs and rules by threatening violence and exacting violence on their enemies or against their own members who don’t follow strict rules,” said Kristi K. Johnson, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office. “This indictment is the latest in our continuing joint efforts to target gangs and drug networks that fuel the violence in our communities.”
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Numerous federal indictments have been handed down against the Mexican Mafia, or “La Eme,” throughout the years in California, where it was founded, including against the gang’s top members between 1995 and 1999, when a total of 65 people were indicted. That marked the first time the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act was used against the gang for dozens of counts that included murder, kidnapping, and extortion.
Charges of violating the RICO statute, which adds 20 years to a prison term, were included in the Orange County case. The murder counts carry the possibility of life in prison.
Prosecutors claim the defendants controlled various parts of Southern California, requiring other Latino gangs to pay “taxes” to deal drugs in their local areas, and that they maintained authority through murder, attempted murder, and violent assaults dating back to 2016.
Among the victims’ transgressions were “abusing power and authority” within the gang, violating the code by warning others that they were in danger, disrespecting Martinez, and cooperating with police.
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Twenty-one of the defendants were already in custody, with nine arrested Tuesday and Wednesday.
