A federal grand jury has indicted nine Salinas men for taking part in a racketeering conspiracy to promote the aims of a Monterey County street gang by engaging in multiple crimes, including 11 murders, 14 attempted murders, drug and gun distribution, and other related offenses.
The superseding indictment, filed Dec. 18 and unsealed today, charges nine defendants, Gustavo “Tatis” Garcia, 26; Lorenzo “Chito” Garcia Jr., 32; Bertin “Dre” Medrano, 32; Jesus “Rose” Saldana, 22; Oscar “Sideshow” Benitez, 27; Carlos “Black Carlos” Gutierrez, 19; Jesus “Chuchin” Avalos Fernandez, 27; Jose “Jay” Aguileraaka, 26; and Marco “Cooks” Sanchez, 29, each with one count of racketeering conspiracy.
Gustavo Garcia, Lorenzo Garcia, and Medrano, were among 11 defendants originally indicted in April 2024. Saldana was arrested this morning in a coordinated law enforcement operation and was arraigned in federal district court this afternoon. The other defendants were already in federal or state custody.
“For more than a decade, this gang has terrorized the residents of the Acosta Plaza townhomes and East Salinas more broadly,” said United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian.
“The violent criminal activity that defendants have been charged with is appalling and unacceptable. We will not stop until the residents of this community feel safe and secure in their homes. I want to thank Homeland Security Investigations and the Salinas Police Department for their excellent work and collaboration.”
According to the superseding indictment, the Salinas Acosta Plaza Norteños are a street gang that originated in a Salinas townhome complex by the same name. The group is now recognized as a clique within the larger collection of Norteño criminal street gangs, prosecutors said in a press release.
“Members of the street gang work together to carry out crimes for the benefit of the street gang, its members, the larger Norteño organization, and the Nuestra Familia prison gang,” prosecutors reported. “Crimes are perpetrated by gang members to protect and uphold its power, territory, and profits, and gang members are expected to engage in shootings, robberies, drug sales, and other criminal conduct to gain entry into, and improve a member’s status in, the gang. Once in the gang, attempting to leave is not permitted; the punishment for attempting to leave is death.”
The superseding indictment lists more than four dozen criminal acts that the defendants are alleged to have committed, including murders and attempted murders between July 2014 and April 2024 of perceived rival gang members, transient individuals, and former gang members.
Defendants are also alleged to have engaged in multiple other crimes, including the robberies of individuals at gunpoint, the firebombing of a Salinas apartment, the distribution of drugs including fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana, firearms trafficking, and numerous shootings.
An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and $250,000 fine for racketeering conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c).
In addition, the indictment alleges that special sentencing factors apply to Lorenzo Garcia for his role in the July 19, 2014, murder of a person identified in the indictment as “Victim-1” and Saldana for his role in the Jan. 23, 2023, attempted murder of two people identified as “Victim-2” and “Victim-3.”
If convicted, Lorenzo Garcia and Saldana each face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America aims to streamline efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.
Assistant United States Attorneys George Hageman and Jared Buszin are prosecuting this case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by HSI and the Salinas Police Department, with assistance from the Monterey County District Attorney’s Office.
