Eddie ‘Criminal’ Garcia Gets 24 Years for Mafia Hit

Eddie “Criminal” Garcia, 39, of El Sereno, was sentenced to 24 years in federal prison Monday for cold-bloodedly executing a fellow gang member who failed to pay “taxes” to the Mexican Mafia. The former 18th Street gang affiliate admitted to gunning down David Dragna with a bullet to the head in 2006 as part of a drug enforcement hit sanctioned by Puente-13 leadership.

Garcia pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, acknowledging his role in collecting extortion payments from drug dealers in the San Gabriel Valley on behalf of a Mexican Mafia figure who controlled the Puente-13 gang. When Dragna, a Valinda man suspected of skimming profits meant for the Mafia, refused to pay up, Garcia and two accomplices lured him to an apartment complex and carried out the execution.

At sentencing, U.S. District Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald called the crime “difficult to imagine a more egregious crime in federal court,” stating Garcia had “stolen hope” from the victim’s family. Following his 288-month sentence, Garcia will serve an additional eight years under federal supervision.

Dragna’s sister delivered a blistering victim impact statement, calling her brother her “best friend” and the one who taught her to ride a bike, drive, and chaperoned her first date. “For ten years, we’ve waited for justice,” she said. “He didn’t die over money—he died because of greed and cruelty.”

The case remained unsolved until a 2010 federal racketeering indictment cracked open the Puente-13 operation. Two co-defendants have already been sentenced: Angel “Smiley” Torres to 186 months, and Steven “Flaco” Nunez to 10 years. The Mexican Mafia figure who ran Puente-13 and his brother are serving life sentences after conviction at trial.

The investigation was led by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mack E. Jenkins prosecuted the case out of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section. “This defendant killed in cold blood to boost his criminal standing,” said former U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “But we ensured he wouldn’t walk free.”