LOS ANGELES – A member of the notorious Pueblo Bishop Bloods street gang, Rondale Young, alias ‘Pueblo Grump,’ has been found guilty by a federal jury for the second time. The conviction stems from the chilling August 2, 2009, murder of Francisco Cornelio, in front of the victim’s two-year-old son.
Young, 36, from South Los Angeles, was sentenced to life imprisonment after a two-week trial concluded with his conviction on Tuesday. United States District Judge S. James Otero will preside over a sentencing hearing scheduled for October 7th.
The jury convicted Young of conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in relation to the murder. He was also found guilty of conspiracy to commit a violent crime in aid of racketeering, VICAR murder, and possessing, using, and discharging a firearm resulting in death.
According to trial evidence, Young and other armed gang members targeted Mr. Cornelio, who had no gang affiliation, as payback for a drive-by shooting against the Pueblo Bishop Bloods. The motive was pure retaliation based on racial targeting. Young had faced charges in 2009 but was acquitted by a state jury.
In August 2010, Young and 44 other members of the gang were indicted for being part of a criminal enterprise involved in drug dealing, firearms trafficking, murder, witness intimidation, and armed robbery. In 2013, Young was initially sentenced to life for racketeering and Mr. Cornelio’s murder but saw his conviction overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which found evidentiary errors in the initial trial. The case then went back to the district court for a retrial, with Young remaining in federal custody since 2010.
This case was investigated by numerous agencies including the FBI, LAPD, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorneys Mack E. Jenkins, Frances S. Lewis, and Julia S. Choe prosecuted the case.
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|Public Corruption|Weapons|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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