Dozens of defendants in San Diego County have been charged with a range of violent crimes, including murder, conspiracy, extortion, and weapons trafficking, allegedly committed on the orders of the Mexican Mafia prison gang.
Local prosecutors announced criminal charges against dozens of defendants who allegedly committed a host of violent crimes throughout San Diego County at the behest of the Mexican Mafia , also known as La eMe. Prosecutors allege the charged offenses, which include murder, conspiracy to commit murder, extortion, and weapons trafficking, were committed by local gang members acting on the orders of incarcerated members of the Mexican Mafia prison gang.
From behind prison walls, Mexican Mafia members directed gang members to extort local businesses by ordering owners to pay 'taxes,' according to prosecutors. San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said one such business was ordered blown up with a grenade because it had not paid the 'tax,' while other businesses were firebombed with Molotov cocktails and robbed.Local prosecutors recently filed 20 separate cases in connection with offenses they say were committed on the Mexican Mafia's orders, including a murder in Chicano Park, allegedly committed by a 15-year-old who was provided the murder weapon by an older gang member. The bulk of the crimes were allegedly committed in downtown San Diego, Barrio Logan, City Heights and South San Diego, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office said. Following a six-month undercover investigation conducted by state and federal law enforcement agencies, 39 defendants were arrested across the county last Thursday. Seven of the charged defendants were already in custody for other crimes, while eight others remain at large. 'Every person in every neighborhood deserves to be safe from crime and violence,' Stephan said in a statement, adding, 'these criminals took orders from gang bosses operating in state prison, and they preyed on business owners by forcing mafia-style 'tax' payments, They dealt illegal drugs, committed widespread violence and trafficked weapons such as ghost guns and AR-15s. The extraordinary cooperation and expertise from our law enforcement partners has exposed the cartel bosses in prison who were calling the shots, and together we put a significant dent in their criminal operation.
Mexican Mafia La Eme San Diego County Gang Violence Extortion
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