Dozens of suspected L.A. gang members facing federal charges, including murder
Dozens of suspected members of a South Los Angeles gang have been arrested and are facing federal charges for drug crimes and at least three murders, the United States Department of Justice announced.
On Tuesday, a federal grand jury indictment was unsealed, charging 37 members and associates of “Florencia 13,” a South L.A. street gang suspected to be involved in several crimes, including homicide, fentanyl trafficking and extortion.
Six defendants were already in custody, but 23 were arrested Tuesday as part of widespread law enforcement “takedown,” the DOJ said. Eight other defendants remain outstanding, including some who are suspected to be fugitives in Mexico.
In addition to the arrests made Tuesday, investigators also recovered 21 pounds of methamphetamine, 9 pounds of fentanyl and 6.5 pounds of heroin, as well as 25 firearms and approximately $70,000 in cash.
Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI field office in L.A., described the tactics used by F13 as “barbaric,” adding that those methods are responsible for several murders.
“Residents of the community in which Florencia-13 operates deserve to live their lives without fear from violence and extortion, and this joint investigation demonstrates our shared commitment to that goal,” Davis said in a DOJ news release.
The bulk of the charges related to Tuesday’s law enforcement operation come from two federal grand jury indictments, the first of which includes charges against 19 defendants, including 30-year-old Celerino Jaramillo, identified by the DOJ as a “shot-caller” in one of the gang’s cliques.
Among the crimes, on June 19, 2023, Jaramillo and another gang member, Oscar Hernandez, 30, are accused of shooting and killing a member of their own gang for violating its rules. After the victim was killed, Jaramillo allegedly told other gang members that he wanted Hernandez inducted into their clique as a reward.
A month later, Jaramillo and Hugo Armando Pineda, 36, allegedly murdered another fellow gang member who was in “bad standing.”
Among the most violent of the alleged crimes, the DOJ said a mob of F13 gang members beat a man to death on Oct. 17, 2022, outside a bar located within “gang territory” in the Florence-Firestone neighborhood.
Gang members allegedly attacked the victim, repeatedly stomping, kicking and punching him and beating him with a baseball bat. Jonathan Reyes, 19, was specifically identified as one of the members of that group.
That first indictment also alleges that Jaramillo and others ran several after-hours bars and clubs, extorting the businesses to pay “taxes” and using them to traffic drugs and firearms.
The second indictment charged eight F13 associates, including Saul Ayon Quintero, 50, of Bellflower, with drug-related crimes, including conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, meth and heroin, as well as using and possessing illegal firearms and ammunition.
Nine other gang members and associates were charged with separate indictments with methamphetamine distribution and another gang member was charged with gun possession crimes.
United States Attorney Martin Estrada said there must be a united front against gang violence, which he says brings murder, violent robberies, drug trafficking and other “devastation” upon local communities.
“Today’s arrests and seizures demonstrate that we will be relentless in combating these criminal organizations,” Estrada said in Tuesday’s news release.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department assisted the FBI and U.S. Marshal’s Service in investigating the gang. Sheriff Robert Luna said local law enforcement agencies are dedicated to creating safer communities by reducing gang violence to “restore safety and enhance the quality of life for all residents.”
At least 11 of those arrested and charged Tuesday morning were expected to appear in court later in the afternoon.
According to the DOJ, if convicted, the majority of defendants who were charged would face a minimum 10-year sentence and a maximum of life in prison.
The case remains under investigation and the search for the eight remaining suspects is ongoing.
Last month, three members of the F13 gang were sentenced to decades in prison for the killing of an off-duty Los Angeles Police Department officer.
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